One of Marion Morrison's pooch portraits

Credit: Marion Morrison

Eye of the Beholder

Visual arts can offer surprise, fascination, excitement or even serenity, and to create such an experience is a source of gratification for many artists. Creating that experience for pet owners has become a significant part of some artists’ livelihoods. Original pet portraiture is a meaningful way to commemorate a four-legged family member, and an ongoing source of commission work for several Island artists.

Marion Morrison came to pet portraiture as a pet lover herself when she, somewhat unintentionally, started Pup Art Studios Inc. Morrison was inspired to paint her own dogs by the work of another artist and soon found herself painting for friends of friends, charities and dog-lovers from all over the world. “I understand why people feel the way they do about their dogs. And they keep telling me that I am able to capture it,” says Morrison. Victoria artist and pet-lover Roy Mercer agrees. “A painting is just a different and unique way of capturing their essence. I too have paintings of my dogs, who have passed away, and I think that gives me an emotional connection as to why I do this.” The emotional centre of the work also makes pet portraiture a particular type of challenge for artists too. Cobble Hill artist Linda Yurge explains, “It’s all in the details that make for an accurate rendering of the subject. Capturing just the right light in the eye for example, brings the portrait to life.” And no one will know those special variants and quirks better than the pet’s owner. Adds Morrison, “If you want to be really base about it, you can say that all labs look alike, but as the owner, you know differently.”

While all three artists have other inspirations, their pet-portrait work provides a different type of outlet for them. Yurge enjoys painting landscapes, flowers and “just about anything that catches my fancy,” but finds a different reward from pet portraits. “I get a deep gratification when a portrait is finished and the owner can really ‘see’ their pet on canvas.”

Aside from a love of animals, and relatable experience as pet owners, these artists’ mediums also play an important role in the expression and energy of their portraits. Mercer works with watercolours, and finds their subtlety and surprise meaningful as an artist, and as a means of translating the liveliness of his subjects. “An animal is a living being just like myself, and it’s important to capture its likeness and personality. Landscapes don’t have eyes, or lick you on your face,” he says.

Yurge works with pastels on suedeboard, which offers a visual depth to her favourite subject, horses. “I love their grace and strength and the fire that they seem to have in their eyes. Trying to capture this in a portrait has been a very challenging and enjoyable process,” she explains. Morrison is a pure colourist, whose bright, energetic work is unquantifiably best-suited to the upfront and unconditional hamminess of dogs. “A lot of people say it looks like the dogs have auras from all the colour. To me, colours associate with personalities, and pretty typically, with emotions. Dogs are all about unconditional love, so to me that translates to bright, strong colours no matter which ones you like in particular,” explains Morrison. Although Morrison says she prefers to meet her subject, they all work predominantly from photographs, not simply because the pet has passed away, but because in addition to the power of word of mouth, commissions have become a form of online shopping.

Commissioning art over the internet is something Morrison never thought she’d see, yet she’s having no shortage of requests from across—and outside of—the country. “It just amazes me that people who’ve never seen a portrait in real life, or any of my work, will contact me with a picture and make a request, all the way from California, just by browsing my site.” Yurge feels the internet has transformed her business opportunities, and her artistic perspective. “I update my blog regularly with all of my work. It helps me progress as an artist as well because I can see over time how my work has changed and improved.” The rest of their clients come by word of mouth from previous clients, which just goes to show that their portraits must truly speak—or meow, bark and neigh—for themselves.