As I promised this will be a lighter baby post as opposed to the first two this week. Today and tomorrow's post will feature two amazing artists! One of the first huge opportunities I had as a new photographer was to show my work in the Hayden Burns Library during Downtown Jacksonville's Artwalk. The chance to show in that gallery once a month was so important early on in my photography "career" and it was always a great time (I'd usually get there early enough to set up right across from the free beer and wine area - really adds to the fun and increases viewership as they wait in line). This was an amazing chance for me to display and sell my work but one benefit that I didn't initially realize when i was showing is that it was a GREAT opportunity to meet other talented young artists. One month, just by chance, we set up next to Kristin Stearley and as she was hanging her work my wife and I were so impressed and her work was right down our alley. Kristin paints portraits of your furry loved ones - that's right, your pets. As soon as we saw her work we immediately started planning on commissioning her to paint our two pups, Otis and Kohana. We actually have kept in touch with Kristin since leaving Jacksonville and as it turns out, showing at Artwalk wasn't the only thing we had in common. Kristin was expecting a baby around the same time we were and she had Emily Jane on February 13th (Congrats Kristin!).
So how does she do it you ask? I imagine keeping a pet (especially one as hyped up as Otis) still long enough for a painter to work up a portrait is horribly difficult. Actually I have experience dealing with pet portrait sessions as we put our pets through it for holidays and calendars. Kristin has developed her own system that involves using a photo that you provide to her and she works from that while also adding color and her own artistic flair. Her unique style and touches she adds to the portrait really make it work (notice the rhinestones attached to the painting on Kohana's collar). Once we decided we wanted our pup's portraits done it was time to find just the right photo. Fortunately I am a photographer so I was able to pick our favorite two shots of the dogs and sent them her way. Below are the two photographs she worked off of while creating their portraits:
The results speak for themselves. She is so nice, does such an amazing job, and does the commission work for a very reasonable price. Whether you have pets or not you MUST check out her website and get in touch with her if you'd like to send her a photo of your pet to paint. You will not be disappointed. If you're in the area and don't feel like taking a pic of your pet give me a shout and I'd be happy to work with you and get the perfect shot for Kristin to paint. Either way, please check out this talented artist!
Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed the post and looking at some of Kristin's work. Hope you all have a safe and happy St. Patrick's day and be sure to come back tomorrow for our second guest blogger and it's going to be a great interview with some amazing photos to go with it. Can't miss it so come back tomorrow! See you then!
