What can be better than having an adorable portrait of your pet? Painting your furry friend yourself!
Pet owners everywhere adore spoiling their pets. But what if you could have a portrait of your best friend hanging on the wall? Painting classes have been popular for quite some time — You head to an art studio, grab a glass of wine or beer, and sit down with some acrylic paints and watch as a painting unfolds on the easel before you. Even the most unskilled painter comes away with a pretty neat final painting.
For animal lovers, getting the chance to paint your pet is a whole different painting experience; there is more emotion attached to it since you are painting your furry family member. You are painting something you care about, not just a random landscape or flower. Since I have taken many paint and sip classes, I jumped at the chance to do a paint your pet class. What could go wrong? Right?
How Does a Paint Your Pet Class Work?
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Most paint your pet classes have you submit a photo of your pet ahead of time, usually when you sign up, so the instructor or their assistant can trace an outline of your pet on the canvas before you get there — That part of the process can take a little bit of time.
When I signed up for my paint your pet class, I had to submit a clear photo of my cat Bandit about a week before the class. The instructor traced the photo onto the canvas so I would have an outline of Bandit to work with.
On the day of the class, I arrived at the venue they were holding the class in. All of the art supplies were already set up on a table, and I just needed to find my spot with Bandit's blown-up photograph. This class was BYOB, and they had water, soda, beer, wine, and snacks available for purchase. I settled in with a nice glass of red wine and waited for the class to begin. Everyone was excited to paint their own pet and was a little nervous about how it would turn out. I'm not the best painter in the world, so I knew this would be an interesting experience.
Step-By-Step Instruction
The instructor began the class by having everyone outline their pet with chalk and then work on their background color. We had the freedom to choose which colors we wanted in the background. For mine, I did a blue sky with green grass, not very original nor creative, but it worked. The next step was going to work on painting our pet's fur. In a regular painting class, you follow the instructor every step of the way, but with a pet class, each participant is working with something a little different. Some participants had dogs, while a few of us had cats. I have even seen classes where people paint their horses, pigs, fish, and birds.
The close-up shot of Bandit was a great reference point for the painting. It was a little difficult to get her tortie fur variation pattern down, but I think I got it pretty close. The class lasted a little over two hours, and I walked away with a great keepsake that actually looked pretty similar to Bandit. It may not have been perfect, but I was pretty happy with how she turned out. Though I'm pretty sure Bandit would disagree, but what are you going to do?
How To Find A Painting Party In Your Area
If you want to paint a portrait of your furry loved one, you can search for upcoming classes in your area online. Sometimes pet charities do painting party fundraisers, getting you the experience and the opportunity to give back to pets in need.
There are also DIY-like classes online, where the company will ship you a painting kit, and you can paint your pet from the comfort of your home, enjoying your favorite beverage!
Would you sign up for a paint your pet class? Tell us on our Wide Open Pets Facebook page.
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