Animal portraits

In general, art of animals is not exactly a respected art form. Animal portraits, in fact, are looked down upon. When most people think about an animal portrait, they picture those dogs playing poker. They are widely known as the most iconic cheese ball art in the world today. Nonetheless, getting a portrait of your animal can be a very touching thing for some people. Although an animal portrait is not for every pet owner, In might just be for you.

I have to confess that I did not set out to be an animal portrait painter. Although I have always enjoyed drawing and painting animals, my aims were originally more artistic. However, animal portraits allow me to make ends meet, paying my bill well practicing my arts. For an artist, there is no greater goal. It is true that not every animal portrait that I paint is a masterpiece, because not every animal portrait that I paint is something that I want to paint. Nonetheless, in general I really enjoyed painting animal portraits. Animals have so much life and such expression.

Something that many people don't see is how much life there is behind the eyes of your average pet. This is what I try to capture in animal portraits. Often, people think of their pet animals – although they are beloved pets – as little more than objects of affection. Few people think of animals as people, and some people don't even think of them as quite alive. These are the misconceptions that I try to cure with my animal portraits. Animal pictures, and pictures in general, have a certain power to them. Even photography can really capture the imagination and make you see the humanity in eyes that you have never looked at closely before. That is the beauty of animal portraits.

I would go as far as saying that making a good animal portrait is more difficult than making a good oil painting of a person. You see, people have so many expectations when they look at animal portraits, and most of them are negative. Unless you can do something that really stands out and strikes them, they will see your animal portraits as clichéd, boring, and dull. In order for them to look exciting, they have to really sparkle. That is my goal – to make animal portraits that sparkle. If I can do that, I can do anything with my art.  Lyle, Lyle Crocodile Book & CD (Read Along Book & CD)