Custom Renoir Style Pet Portrait, Hand-Painted from Your Photo

Your dog or cat in oil, painted by hand from a photograph, alone or with someone you love.

Get down to their level

From standing height a muzzle shortens and a head flattens, and the painting inherits that. Use eye height, daylight, no flash, and a moment of stillness. Send several photographs, since the one that paints best is not always your favourite. Describe the colouring in words too, because phone cameras handle black and white coats badly.

Cats rarely look at a lens on request. Wait by the window seat or the sunny chair, and keep a small point of light in each eye so they do not paint flat.

Animals Renoir let in

Luncheon of the Boating Party has Aline Charigot playing with a small affenpinscher at the lower left of the table. Woman with a Cat dates from 1875, a young woman holding a cat. In his 1878 Charpentier group portrait a Newfoundland named Porthos lies on the floor, and Portrait of Alfred Bérard with His Dog from 1881 sets a dog beside its sitter.

Fur in two ways

A coat is made of many tones, and short touches of warm and cool colour next to each other let light move on it where smooth blending would not.

The faithful version paints the markings as your photograph shows them. The Renoir version sets warm and cool touches side by side, with shadows that take the colour of the floor or the grass. Black dogs are full of blue and brown in shade. Either way the canvas is painted after his manner and is not an original Renoir.

Pet with person, or pet alone

A dog on a lap in a garden makes a warmer picture than an animal on a bare ground. Send a photograph of each. A second animal or a person is one more figure in the quote. Two cats that never sit together can be photographed separately at the same height.

A short list of terms

• One animal, smallest canvas, rolled, starts at $218 (30 × 40 cm, rolled canvas).
• Painting takes 2 to 4 weeks.
• A small or medium canvas suits one animal, since these are close pictures.
• Photographs of the finished portrait arrive before dispatch.
• Shipping is free worldwide and tracked. Carriers: UPS or DHL.
• After dispatch, allow 5 to 7 business days.

When the pet has died

Often only a few phone photographs remain. Send all of them: one may show the eyes, another the white patch on the chest, another the set of the ears. Add the name, the age and what the family looks for first.

Animal questions

Can a pet portrait be returned?

Yes, like any canvas. Return period: 30 days.

You can cancel your order at any time until it ships.

Can I send a photo of a pet that moved?

A blurred shot is usable when it shows the head and eyes; several blurred ones together often give enough. A tail or a paw in sharp focus matters less than the face.

For a family with its dog, or a house with its garden, find them on the custom Renoir painting page.

Tell us about your animal