Welcome to Louise’s ARTiculations
I am thrilled that you stopped by!
Based in Rockland, in the Ottawa region, Canada, I am a retired high school teacher/dog mother/pet portrait artist (mostly). I work by commission and I have an ever-growing portfolio of fur babies that have been painted for many different occasions including anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, and sadly, also many memorial portraits. My satisfied clients from all over North America often leave testimonials which I am pleased to share with my readers.
Over the years, I have found that I get bored if I don't try different techniques, different subjects. Hubby is usually not too far away supporting me with encouraging comments as he brings me fuel (coffee) right to my desk.
When I first retired from teaching high school students, I knew I wanted to paint and write, but I didn’t know what to paint because I wanted to paint everything! I experimented A LOT. And it turned out that all that experimentation was a good thing; it became the foundation for my first love, pet portraits.
To this day, I continue to paint everything...many of the techniques I learn, whether it is collage, mixing my own paint colours, adding impasto strokes - all of it can help me when I paint pet portraits.
So then, how did my commission work begin?
It started inadvertently when I painted my own Havanese, Chico, on canvas.
Next, I offered Christmas gifts of pet portraits on wood slices to family and friends. They showed their friends and the orders arrived from as far as Vancouver and San Diego, California. It didn’t take long to gain momentum with many commissioned wood slices and of course, as they say, the rest is history! Here are some of the very first wood slice portraits of family and friends' pets.
An expanding portfolio of wonderful fur friends.
I am excited whenever I am asked to paint a breed I have never painted before. The photos I receive by email of your cherished pets put a smile on my face.
A pet portrait for a dog or cat lover is a unique memento that will last a lifetime. It is an honour to be chosen to celebrate the joy that your pet brings to your life.
Over time, I have made many friends both of the two-legged and four-legged variety. I would love to get to know you too. There are many ways to do this: join my mailing list, or contact me, or follow me on Facebook, or Instagram or Pinterest.
I am published - a second time!
In June 2019, I was published in an Orleans, Ontario magazine - Neighbours of Chapel Hill.
In 2023, an international magazine for the "creative and curious inspired by craft, design, typography and illustration" published Suri. Since 2009, Uppercase magazine has a readership "of designers, illustrators, craftspeople, creative entrepreneurs and paper lovers around the world."
If you see anything that I have shared and you are thinking...wow! I would love to have that either to gift to someone I love or to keep for myself...just contact me! Or if you are on a social media site, DM me!
