Petimento
PET PORTRAITS
Pet Portraits in Oil, Pet Portraits from Photos, Pet Artist
Petimento is a play on the word pentimento , which is a painting term that means "the image that shows through on the surface of a painting of what was painted at an earlier time". I've always liked the idea of another story coming through, so to speak. It also implies the word "Memento", which is what a pet portrait can be, a keepsake or souvenir to remember someone. A family's pet is more than a just a picture of a specific breed with certain markings. This is why it's important to me that a pet portrait should have a good likeness but also have a bit of their story showing through. For this reason I like to hear a little something about your pet when I'm about to start their portrait .
My name is Cara Wood Ginder, and I'm located in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm devoted to recording our animal friends for their families and posterity. Being a pet portrait painter is a calling that I think is as important as any other in the art world. There is something about capturing these animals that is very satisfying. Each one is different. Dog portraits, cat portraits, cockatoo portraits... they all have their stories.
Sophie
Sophie's pet parents were excited about commissioning an oil painting portrait of her to hang in their home. She was such a good dog and good at sitting still when her people took pictures of her. Sometimes she would sit on one of her pet parents laps which made for a nice relaxed expression. But the time when she just sat there on the grass and looked right at the camera with a curious expression, everyone knew that was the photo that really captured Sophie. Something about the look in her eyes.
Buster
Take Buster for example; he is the manager and director of his pet parent's art gallery in New York. He is usually a calm and dignified presence there. So of course it was important that he have his image immortalized. He was so enthusiastic to participate that every time his photographer clicked the button on the camera, he barked! They were having trouble getting a good photo. He started getting nervous.... it's like he couldn't help himself. All the attention he was getting was making him more worried and it was seemingly impossible to get the right photo I would need to work from. We finally figured out that he was calmer when his pet parent picked him up and set him in her lap and held his face gently towards the camera... So here he is, dignity restored, looking quite good in spite of everything he went through to get the shot. It was easy to paint it without the helping hands…
Buddy
This is Buddy. He was our cat and he was an athlete. That is why I included his favorite ball next to him. Sometimes you wouldn't see him for quite a while and then, boom, he appeared looking just like this, staring right at you with his ball on his right. We knew we would have to stop what it was we thought we were doing at that moment and play ball with him. It wasn't usually a long session but it could be a wild one full of jumps and chases. With each throw he brought his ball back for another run. He was so smart, he intensely watched it and calculated the trajectories as it came down and then he flew after it. He looked like a soccer player, dashing up and down the hallway too. He reminded me of a little "jock", with his stocky body and short hair. Twenty or thirty times he'd chase that ball before he'd finally lay down next to the ball and rest and then you were free to go back to whatever you were doing ...after you pet him a little bit. We miss Buddy.
He was an indoor cat but he looks perfect with a "classical" outdoor background.
"Petimento is a play on the word pentimento, which is a painting term that means an image that shows through earlier paint... I've always liked the idea of another story coming through, so to speak...." - Cara Wood Ginder