Artist portraits offer a lasting memory of a…
Pet portraits have never been so simple to create, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence software program that can immediately flip a picture of a cat or canine into something from a Renaissance nobleperson to a celeb crooner.
However, hand-painted pet portraits are still very a lot a going concern. The Post talked to 4 artists whose business is booming, thanks to inventive expertise and pet house owners who consider only a human can seize the character of their beloved animal.
Bold alternative
Ben Lenovitz says that through his commissions, he’s “learned … to focus on the eyes.” Ben Lenovitz
Ben Lenovitz has been portray pet portraits for eight years and has a common gig at the home items store Fishs Eddy in the Flatiron District.
In a studio there, he paints pets from pictures, that are principally submitted to his web site. However, he’s accessible in particular person, first-come, first-served, in the store from 1 to 4p.m. on Saturdays.
He makes use of acrylic paints in broad brushstrokes, capturing the pet’s character in an virtually cartoonlike approach. He paints on cardboard to make the artwork appear less critical. Brown is also a good midtone discovered in many animals’ coats, and contrasts with a gentle blue background.
Illustration of a dachshund named Roxie by Lenovitz. Ben Lenovitz
“I’ve learned over time that every pet is unique, and how to paint fur better, and to focus on the eyes,” Lenovitz, 34, told The Post in January from Thailand, where he was taking a winter break to examine ecological communities. “Most dogs have Resting Sad Face, but when their tongues come out, their eyes look super happy.”
Lenovitz spends about 40 minutes on a portray. “I don’t want to overpaint, and some of my best work is done quickly.” He fees $400 for a framed, 22” x 17” portrait of one pet.
He’s seen pet house owners have gotten “more obsessed,” particularly those who acquired a canine during COVID, then realized “it gave them a whole new love, it became their priority.”
A duet of canine, Henry and Hank, by Lenovitz. Ben Lenovitz
The Battery Park City native never had a pet growing up, and is extremely allergic to cats and canine. “Just their saliva in the air gives me asthma,” Lenovitz said. “But to their owners, they’re the most magic being in their life. I never understood that until now, and I’m a bit jealous of that.”
Fine traces
Amanda Moeckel is a pet portraitist and youngsters’s ebook illustrator based in Warwick, NY. She cut her tooth doing pet portraits in New York City, and moved during the pandemic.
She works half-time creating customized pet portraits, primarily of canine (75%) and cats (25%), finishing 42 commissions in 2025. This is high-end stuff: She works in acrylic paint, from pictures, and spends two to 4 weeks on each piece.
Amanda Moeckel works in acrylics to seize beloved pets. Amanda Moeckel
Moeckel selects the best pictures with shoppers, creates digital mockups in Procreate on her iPad and sends progress pictures at the midway level and before completion, to guarantee accuracy of particulars like facial markings.
She mixes her blacks from blues, reds and yellows to create more dimensional fur. She attributes elevated business to a backlash against AI artwork, with shoppers in search of genuine, handmade work.
She also conducts live portrait occasions at shops and veterinary hospitals, creating 15-minute acrylic sketches. Memorial portraits for deceased pets make up a significant slice of her commissions.
A stare-contesting cat courtesy of Moeckel. Amanda Moeckel
“I love when they hit me with a long email, it shows me the love that they have for their pet, and helps me choose the right pose for the portrait, or the right expression,” Moeckel told The Post.
“In the past couple decades, there’s been more of a push for handmade art, and even in the last year or so, AI has brought the conversation to the forefront about what makes good art,” she said.
Moeckel doesn’t really feel at all threatened by software program skilled on other people’s work: “I can’t imagine people wanting to consume art that’s not made by a human. It’s missing the voice and the perspective of a human. All of our accumulated experiences in life are inside our bodies and come out.”
Master class
Hannah Stahl specializes in Old Master techniques. Hannah Stahl
Hannah Stahl runs Huund, specializing in classical oil work on canvas, utilizing Old Master techniques. She has accomplished over 170 commissioned portraits, and lives in Rhode Island.
Pet portraiture has grow to be her full-time gig, and she always has 5 to 12 people in line.
“My clients know every expression, every posture, every hair, and I think what they really want is someone to see their dog or cat the way they do,” Stahl told The Post.
Painter Stahl believes pets are immortalized in her portraits. Hannah Stahl
She says when people notice their pet gained’t live ceaselessly, they get motivated.
“Our animals mark these chapters in our lives. A lot of people are like, ‘My dog has gotten me through this divorce, or this heartbreak, or my mother passing,’ ” she said.
AI is driving clients to her because animal house owners still need to be half of the long custom of commissioning oil work of royalty, relations and, yes, pets.
“I think my customers appreciate participating in something that isn’t computer-generated . . . I can do a giant, pop art dog for a modern apartment, or a pet that looks like they could be at the foot of a Velázquez painting,” she said.
A portrait of flower-curious Kiyoko, titled “Pet Portraits” by Hannah Stahl. Hannah Stahl
Her craft depends on “deeply, deeply looking” at the pet. She begins with an anatomical drawing and then provides layers of paint.
“It’s a very slow process, in contrast to AI. The human hand is fixing and refining, until suddenly, something emerges. It’s like the animal breathes or blinks, and people cry. It’s a mysterious process, even to me,” Stahl said.
She was ready to seize the muscle tissues and shadows of a leaping terrier called Lucy, because “I knew that dog, so I was able to be around when the dog was being photographed and was aware of getting wonderful morning light.”
“It’s very emotional and there’s a lot of crying when they’re telling me about their dog, or when they get the portrait.”Hannah Stahl
“People just love their dogs so much, like a child or a best friend,” she added. “It’s very emotional and there’s a lot of crying when they’re telling me about their dog, or when they get the portrait.”
She does cats, too.
“Dogs tell you who they are, their emotions are written all over their faces . . . catching a scent or smiling or panting, there’s a lot going on. I think cats make you work for it a little more, they’re more mysterious. It’s all about the eyes.”
Stahl likes pictures that show how slinky a cat is, because “the arching of their back and their tails are really exciting to me.”
Fur is simple to paint: “It’s just light, I don’t get caught up in the details of individual hairs.”
She mixes her black from ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and Van Dyke brown. “It’s like a really deep purple. No matter what color cat or a dog I’m painting, it’s in it.”
Real deal
Victor Andrade’s company contracts with varied artists from around the world. Steven Morris
Victor Andrade is the cofounder of Bondel (“eternal bond”), a family-run business. He contracts with artists around the world who paint portraits from pictures, often as memorials. He feels pet house owners need one thing that captures their animal’s character in a approach AI never might.
“Our customers come to us because they hate AI,” Andrade told The Post. “We, as humans, like to feel there’s someone who cares about the work they’re doing, someone is listening to their feedback and allowing unlimited additions.”
The Bondel signature model contains a patterned background that makes the animal pop ahead in the aircraft.
Doggy model: Fluffy ones make for good topics at Bondel.
“We make things look different, and people are very emotional about their pets right now,” Andrade said, suggesting that despite financial uncertainty, people will still spend their disposable income on a portrait of a canine that just handed away.
Bondel’s median gross sales price is $200, but Andrade says they often promote large work for around $1,000. He is based in Portugal and has clients in New York and Miami. He is also getting into the Australian market, where, he says, “the dog culture is huge.”
Of his New York clients, he said: “The younger demo thinks of their pets as their children, they’re demanding about details. And they’re great gift buyers.”
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