10 Ways to Celebrate Your Pet Through Art

Cherish your pet by creating lasting artwork that shows how much you love them.

By: Erin Gifford

Related To:

Shop This Look

Photo By: Flutterbye Prints

Photo By: Painting with a Twist

Photo By: Andy Stolarek / Furtographs

Photo By: One Little Project

Photo By: Artist/photographer: Tina Hartman; www.PictureYourPhoto.com

Photo By: DNA11

Photo By: Mandi Pratt / Greyboy Pet Prints

Photo By: Canvas Zoo

Photo By: Humane Society of Southern Arizona

Photo By: Brittany Norris

Get Artsy With Your Pet's Paw Print

Capture your pet's paw prints, either by snapping a photo or by using pet-friendly ink and paper, to create a whimsical custom pillow or framed print with Flutterbye Prints. Simply email the paw prints and your custom pet art will arrive in about four weeks. Make sure your pet's paw is at least 10 inches from the camera and that the fur between his paws is neatly trimmed when taking the photo.

Paint Your Own Pet on Canvas

As paint-and-sip art studios continue to grow in popularity, some now enable you to paint your own pets. The Painting With a Twist studio in Ashburn, Va., hosts regular pet painting classes, which serve as a fundraiser for a local animal rescue organization. Simply provide a photo of your pet ahead of the class so the teacher can pre-sketch an outline on the canvas for you to paint when you arrive. Bottle & Bottega also offers Paint Your Pet parties.

Capture the Essence of Your Pet With a Photo Shoot

You may have loads of photos of your pet on your iPhone, but how many of those would you want to frame for your desk? Look to a professional photographer, like Andy Stolarek of Furtographs. He's been working with animals for nearly 20 years, so he knows how to capture what you love most about your pet in a photo shoot. For starters, he says to make sure your pet isn't hungry. And don't rush; animals can sense worry and anxiety.

Make Salt Dough Holiday Ornaments

Salt dough is a fun and simple way to preserve your pet's actual paw print. It's easy to make (you really only need salt, flour and water), easy to capture your pet's paw print and easy to turn into a paw print salt dough ornament, like Debbie Chapman of One Little Project did with her kids. Once the salt dough ornaments are hard and dry, decorate with paint, glitter and a ribbon to hang on the tree to celebrate your pet during the holidays.

Have a Professional Artist Paint Your Pet

If you have no inner artist to unleash but are eager to have a painting of your pet to hang over the fireplace, look to a professional like Tina Hartman of Picture Your Photo. Send in a digital photo of your favorite furbaby and within two weeks, Hartman will return a digital pet portrait by email for you to reproduce as many times as you like. Or, look to Pet Art With Heart, which will use pastels or oils to paint your pet from a photo.

Create Wall Art From Your Pet's DNA

It's hard to think of a more unique way to celebrate your pet through artwork than with a DNA pet portrait from DNA11. Choose the size and frame of your portrait, then DNA11 will send you a color swatch and a collection kit to swab the inside of your pet's cheek for a DNA sample. Just as all DNA is unique, so too is every colorful canvas print showcasing your pet's DNA identity. DNA11 can make DNA pet portraits for nearly every mammal, including dogs, cats and horses.

Have a Custom Etching Made

Preserve the likeness of your pet by way of a custom etching made by Greyboy Pet Prints that you can hang or display on your desk. Begin the process by emailing in a photo, which will be etched onto a metal plate, then pressed onto fine art paper. Artist Mandi Pratt says she can even infuse ash into the ink for a pet that has passed. This is a fun way to transform even a cell phone photo into artwork worthy of a frame.

Let Your Pet Pop With Pop Art

A fun way to capture your pet through art is with an Andy Warhol-style pop art on canvas. Canvas Zoo specializes in creating colorful pop art from photos of your pets. If you have more than one pet but don't have one photo of them side by side, it's no problem. Canvas Zoo can take two photos and create one pop art canvas with them together. They can also create colorful collages if you have multiple pet photos.

Create a Paw Print Painting

As a way to celebrate the dogs they have up for adoption, the Humane Society of Southern Arizona creates paw print paintings with each dog that are easy to do at home, too. Start with a large black-and-white print-out of your pet on simple copy paper, then dip your pet's paws in colorful, pet-safe paint. Next, have your pet walk around on top of the photo to place 10 or so paw prints on top of the photo. Frame and display in your home or office.

Liven Up Any Room With a Pet Photo Pillow

Colorful pillows can brighten up any room, and a custom throw pillow featuring a photo of your pet is a fun way to feel as though he's right there beside you at all times. CanvasPop can turn most any photo into an 18-inch-by-18-inch plush pillow with your pet's likeness that's just right for the sofa or your bed. Choose any photo from your phone, tablet or computer.

10 Ways to Celebrate Your Pet Through Art

Related To:

Shop This Look

Get Artsy With Your Pet's Paw Print

Paint Your Own Pet on Canvas

Capture the Essence of Your Pet With a Photo Shoot

Make Salt Dough Holiday Ornaments

Have a Professional Artist Paint Your Pet

Create Wall Art From Your Pet's DNA

Have a Custom Etching Made

Let Your Pet Pop With Pop Art

Create a Paw Print Painting

Liven Up Any Room With a Pet Photo Pillow

10 Ways to Connect With Your Pet 10 Photos

Fun Ways to Celebrate Mardi Gras With Your Pup 9 Photos

10 Fun Ways to Work Out With Your Dog 10 Photos

10 Ways Your Dog Says I Love You 10 Photos

10 Ways to Love Your Pet and the Planet, Too 10 Photos

10 Ways to Manage the Hair in Your House

Related Pages