Custom Hand-Painted Pet Portraits

Original, hand-painted portraits that celebrate the animals who become part of our families. Created from your photographs and slowly layered to bring the character and essence of your pet to the canvas.

Through expressive brushstrokes, thoughtfully layered composition, and an appreciation for the beauty of natural light, each portrait is carefully painted to capture the expression, personality, and favorite quirks that make every pet unique.

Selected Pet Portraits

Finnegan

Watercolor on paper

Maaow

Bitty Bit - mini pet-portrait

Pastel on PastelMat

Martha, Josie, & Finn

Their Happy Place portrait

Acrylic on canvas paper

Painting of 3 dog silhouettes at the beach

A Portrait Celebrating Your Pet

I want everyone who sees pet portraits I've painted to know, "This animal mattered."

I love honoring the human - animal bond and the joy our pets bring to our lives.

I do my best to capture the companionship you feel with your pet by using emotion over narrative, meaning the portrait doesn't need to tell a story, it carries the feeling of the bond you share.

Details matter. I use your photos, listen to your stories, and share in the love for your pet to create a portrait that emphasizes your pet's expression, personality, and the details that tell their unique story. I layer color and texture to create a sense of warmth, memory, and familiarity, making the portrait feel lived-in rather than photographic.

The eyes are often where their personality shines through. But the tilt of an ear, an unusual marking, the texture of fur, a familiar expression, or where your pet is the happiest can be just as important. These small observations are what allow my portraits to feel specific to your pet rather than simply a representation of an animal.

What I Offer

From my Traditional portraits that capture your pet’s likeness and personality to my Bitty Bits featuring one especially beloved detail, I offer several ways to celebrate what makes your companion unique.

Their Happy Place portraits place your pet in a meaningful location using either a bold, traditional silhouette or an ethereal Spirit silhouette that blends their presence with the surrounding landscape.

Every portrait is created from your photographs and stories and thoughtfully personalized to honor your pet, your connection, and the memories you share.

Portrait commissions are released in small, seasonal openings, allowing me to give each painting the individual time and attention each pet deserves.

When a portrait opening begins, available spaces are offered until that period's schedule is filled. Once all spaces have been reserved, commissions close until the next opening.

Join the Portrait List to be the first to hear when the next portrait opening is coming up!

Next portrait opening: October 2026

Join the Portrait List

Traditional

Portraits

Bitty Bits

Mini Portraits

Their Happy Place Portraits

1. Reserve Your Portrait
Choose your portrait size and submit your commission request during an open commission period.

2. Send Your Photographs
After your place is reserved, you'll receive instructions for submitting reference photographs and information about your pet.

3. Sharing is Caring

We'll chat about all the things that make your pet unique, special, and beloved. We'll go through the photos you sent and discuss options for bringing your pet's expression, personality, qualities, and presence to life through art.

4. I Paint Your Portrait
I choose the strongest reference materials, including your stories, to create your original portrait, focusing on expression, character, color and the details unique to your pet. Once I get a solid foundation, I'll reach out about options for the background.

5. Progression

My process is collaborative, with opportunities for reflection and refinement along the way. I send progress photos and ask clarifying questions and for feedback to make sure your portrait feels true to your pet and your relationship with them.

6. After the Portrait is Complete
Your completed original is signed, varnished or placed in glassine paper, carefully packaged, and shipped to you.

Mediums

Paint

I use professional-grade paints with high pigment loads and archival lightfastness without added fillers or extenders.

Pastels

I use professional, hand-rolled, soft pastels that offer the purest pigments, mixed with minimal amounts of natural binders, in an exclusive formula that yields lightfast, water-soluble pastels.
I use Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils, which are made using only synthetic or plant-based materials. Faber-Castell ensures no animal testing and no casein-based adhesives in production or packaging.

Canvas

Premier, gallery-wrapped, stretched cotton canvas with a deep edge of 1.5”.
- The benefit of a deep edged canvas is they do not need to be framed – the edge is painted a flat color of your choosing, normally the background color from the painting but it can be any color that may make the painting pop or go with your decor.
  - If you do know ahead of time that you’re planning to put the artwork in a frame or float frame, let me know and I may recommend going with a canvas depth of 0.75” that fits more frames. Deeper edged canvases can still be framed, but tend to cost more later.
  - Archival, acid-free, Lignin-free, OBA-Free, heavyweight build canvas
  - Designed to resist yellowing, cracking, and fiber degradation over time
Bitty Bits are painted on premier stretched cotton canvas with 1/2" to 1" edges.

Watercolor

Arches 300lb (640gm) watercolor paper for watercolor paintings

Pastel

PastelMat for soft pastel and pastel pencil paintings

Protecting Your Art

Watercolors are sealed in Dorland's cold wax
- The wax is a non-yellowing mixture of resin and pure beeswax that strengthens oil paint film against shrinkage and cracking while sealing out dirt, air, and moisture.
Canvases are varnished using Gamblin's Gamvar Matte.
- The varnish will protect the painting from UV and dust and can be wiped with a soft cloth without damaging the painting.
For most soft pastel and pastel pencil artwork I skip varnish entirely. I recommend placing your artwork behind glass with a mat or spacers so the glass never touches the surface of the painting.

All portraits are delivered unframed, giving you the freedom to choose a frame that best suits your home and style.

All portraits are standard sizes (unless you've commissioned an extra large portrait), so finding a frame is easy!

Option 1: Framing it yourself (the most budget-friendly).

Coming soon: Browse my favorite frames for ideas.

Coming soon: Need help framing it yourself? Check out my framing tutorials.

Option 2: Take it to your local framer (it's what they do).

Feeling overwhelmed? Don't stress! Take your portrait to your local framer and they'll help you decide what works best for how you'd like to display your portrait.

Mandy, CA

I searched for a long time for the right artist to capture the spirit of Finn. I knew how deeply his dad loved him, and I knew he would look closely at every detail. I didn’t just need someone who could create a beautiful likeness. I needed an artist who would take the time to find what made Finn unmistakably Finn.

Keegan did exactly that. She worked exhaustively to study him from every angle, understand his personality, and learn what his many different expressions meant. The level of care she brought to the process was extraordinary. I was astounded by the skill, time, thought, and genuine investment she poured into Finn’s portrait.

The finished piece feels like so much more than a portrait. It feels like Finn. I’m confident I could have searched for many more years and never found an artist better suited to something this meaningful than Keegan Spera.

I cannot recommend her highly enough, and I already can’t wait for the opportunity to work with her again.