If there’s one thing Alex Cech loves more than painting, it’s her fluffy muses!
Although she’s been a painter since high school, Alex began exclusively doing pet portraits just a few years ago. She loves just about every aspect of her job, but her favorite part has to be seeing a side-by-side of the pet and the portrait – this is often the closest she gets to “meeting” them. And luckily for us, she shares these adorable photos on social media! Keep scrolling to see some of our favorites.
1. Each one of Alex’s realistic paintings is based on a photograph.
2. Sometimes owners have trouble finding the “perfect” one, especially if their beloved pet already passed, but Alex is always able to find a way to make it work.
3. “As a workaround, I typically use one favorite image as the source photo and use others as reference photos.”
4. Other times, searching for images of the same breed can help her capture details like fur texture or paw shape.
5. Alex wouldn’t have to figure out these details if she were a photographer, but when a painting is well-done, she finds that it’s “even more special than a photograph.”
6. “While a photograph can capture a moment,” Alex said, “a painting has the ability to capture the subject’s essence.”
7. She added, “It’s hard to describe, but I know that I’ve done my job when my clients tell me that they can truly see their pet’s spirit in my work.”
8. Each one of Alex’s paintings are made with so much love and care.
9. The fastest portrait she’s ever done was a small, black-and-white watercolor painting. It took her eight hours to complete.
10. On the other hand, her large oil paintings can take as long as 60 hours.
11. So that means that, on average, each painting takes about 25 hours.
12. As time consuming as her art can be, Alex absolutely loves what she does.
13. In fact, her work is popular enough that painting these pet portraits is her full-time job!
14. And even though she usually doesn’t get to meet her muses, that’s not always the case! She got to meet this cutie, Kinnidy, as well as the two pups in the next photo.
15. “For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing animals,” Alex said. “They’ve always been my favorite subject.”
We totally understand why Alex loves to paint animals so much! Each one of them is so precious and unique in their own way, and she does such a splendid job at capturing that.
Don’t forget to share this list with a pet parent.
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