If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): pet portraits

Showing posts with label pet portraits. Show all posts

Meet Zoey and Jasper, An Adorable Pet Project by Photographer Grace Chon.

Art director turned commercial photographer Grace Chon specializes in animals, lifestyle and celebrities with their pets. Grace, who confesses to having dressed her dogs in ridiculous clothes for years, turned into a baby-hat fanatic once she gave birth to her son Jasper. It wasn't long before she realized that, not only do the hats look cute on her adorable child, but they looked pretty darn sweet on her shy rescue dog Zoey as well.

What began as a university fine arts project on Pointillism and Georges Seurat by student Joel Brochu, evolved into a remarkable artistic idea.

What looks like an image of a beagle getting a bath (above) is actually a 4’ by 1 ½’ high definition photograph covered in 221,184 nonpareil sprinkles, each placed painstakingly by hand.

At a distance of 16 feet, the sprinkles blur, tricking the human eye into believing that it is looking at a large photograph. Only when you closely examine the work do you realize that it has been created entirely with tiny spheres of rainbow nonpareils.

Meticulously placed by hand using jewelry tweezers, the sprinkles adhere to the board with the help of double sided tape and a thin layer of glue.

Using only 6 colors of sprinkles (Red, Orange, Green, Blue, Black, and White), a myriad of hues was created.

Joel used a customized computer program, in which a template was created from the original image which guided the placement of each sprinkle. Taking just under 8 months to complete, once finished, it was permanently preserved with a clear acrylic resin.

Sweet, huh?

A big shoutout to Betsy Wills and her wonderful blog, Artstormer, for bringing this unique piece to my attention. Most images courtesy of Joel Brochu

Shake, Shake, Shake. Dogs In Motion Caught by Pet Photographer Carli Davidson.

Pet photographer Carli Davidson of Portland, Oregon will take portraits of you and your pet, be it a dog, cat, goat or even an armadillo. Like many pet photographers, she will shoot them with and without their owners and is more than capable of capturing the special bond between human and animal. While the portraits are nice, it's her series "Shake" that's really worth sharing.

In black and white and color photos, Davidson captures dogs shaking their heads. Ears flying, foam flinging and fur all a frenzy. The distorted expressions - half-grimace, half-smile - are familiar to many a dog owner, but when caught with a camera are truly mesmerizing:

all images ©Carli DavidsonAbout Carli Davidson Photography (from her site):
Carli Davidson is a nationally recognized fine art pet photographer currently working out of Portland Oregon. She has a background in both commercial and documentary photography, as well as over 7 years experience as an animal trainer and caretaker. Her love of both art and animals led her to work as an animal care technician and photographer for the Oregon Zoo, as well as a volunteer photographer for local animal rescues.

Her photography has been published in Portland Monthly, The Atlantic, The Village Voice, The Oregonian, The Portland Tribune, and numerous Zoo publications. She is also a regular photo contributor to Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish.

Her retouching includes products for Cartier, David Yurman, Movado Watch, and Coach and have been published in Vogue, Destinations, NYT Magazine, and People Magazine.

Carli has taught for the Newspace Center for Photography, and The Oregon Zoo, and has spoken at numerous institutions including The Art Institute, and The Evergreen State College.

Carli Davidson LLC
119 SE Main se.
Suit 203
Portland, OR 97214
United States

Visit Carli's site to learn about scheduling a sitting, check out the prices and to see other wonderful pet photography.

Carli Davidson on Facebook

Nama "Stay" - Puppies & Kittens Strike Yoga Poses For 2011 Calendars.

above: Prince does the Adho Mukha Vrkhasana, or handstand

How do you top Dogs and Cats doing yoga? Why with puppies and kittens striking the enlightened poses, of course.

After great success with his Yoga Dogs and Yoga Cats calendars in 2009 and 2010, Texas photographer Dan Borris has come out with Yoga Puppies and Kitten calendars for 2011.

The 2011 Yoga Puppies Calendar:

Some of the puppies from the 2011 Calendar:

above: Liza does the Virasana, or hero pose

above: Kerrigan does the Ardha-Chandrasana, or half-moon pose

above: Pansy does the Bitilasana, or cat-cow variation

The 2011 Yoga Kittens Calendar:

Some of the kittens from the 2011 calendar:

above: Candy also does the Virasana, or hero pose

above: Miles does the Dhyana, or self-inquiry pose

above: Randy does the Vyaghrasana, or tiger pose variation

above: Skittles does the Urdhva Dhanurasana, or backbend preparation

The Yoga Dogs 2011 calendar, shown below, will be in stock soon.

above: The 2010 Yoga Dogs and Yoga cats were bestsellers.

About:
Five years ago photographer Dan Borris came across his first Yoga Dog. Otis was a two-year-old English Bull Terrier who loved to do yoga with his friend Joy. Joy would be practicing her yoga in the mornings while Otis wandered around her legs, stopping now and again to lick her face as she did a headstand. Slowly but surely Otis began to imitate Joy. At first he tried out simple poses, ones that came naturally to him like Downward and Upward Dog. As time went on Otis's poses became more and more complex, until finally he began his own practice. While Otis himself wasn't captured on film, he did lead Dan on his path to finding other four-legged Yogis.

The original two-legged Yogis discovered poses by observing and imitating the movement of animals. Now the practice has come full circle and it's the dogs that are imitating us! You can see the absolute delight they take in their yoga and when they practice you can feel their profound concentration.

You can buy the 12 " x 12" calendars directly from their site, but pssst! they are cheaper at the links below:

thanks to Dan Borris and The Guardian for the images

Paul Boddum's Pet Paintings & Custom Portraits

above: Lucy (1992-2008), Portrait for Ann Rohmer

Paul Boddum (b.1966) is a visual artist based in Toronto. His passion is creating contemporary artworks for people who cherish their dogs and cats. Paul's inspiration comes from his love of animals and the unique personalities and stories of each pet he paints. Boddum's paintings are concerned with the idea of dogs being little versions of our ideal companion and the positive effects pets have by enhancing our quality of life.

Looking for an incredibly personal and decadent gift to give someone special? How about a custom portrait made of diamonds and sapphires and set in 18k gold? Too much? Okay, then how about some semi-precious stones set in sterling silver? Either way, Gemstone Creative of the UK can make it for you.

Whether it's a photo, artwork, a company logo or anything special to you, they will turn the image into a very valuable and unique piece of art. Talented and skilled artists and craftsmen hand-set gemstones to recreate the image in a bespoke wall mountable piece for you.

Here are some examples of their work:
Marilyn Monroe:

Jay-Z:

Queen Elizabeth:

David Beckham:

President Barack Obama:

Tiger:

Almost any kind of gemstone can be used from diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies, to semi precious stones such as amethysts, peridot, tanzanite, and quartz. All the stones are brilliant cut (round) so as long as the stone can be properly cut to size and ordered in volume (if applicable) then there should not be any problems.

Since each piece uses anywhere from two to tens of thousands of 0.25ct gemstones, the final price can not be determined until the type of gemstone and required quantities are decided on along with the precious metal they are to be set in.

As you'd expect, precious gemstones will be more expensive than semi precious stones, and 18k gold will be more costly than sterling silver. The prices are based on current market values and hence will fluctuate accordingly. They will provide you with a final price prior to starting any work on your design, and upon acceptance of this, payments will take the form of three separate installments.

All of the pieces are produced in London, England, where many of the world’s best jewellery craftsmen are located and having them made here ensures the highest level of workmanship. In fact, all the members of their team are based in or around London which prevents lag time delays occurring which is crucial for a business where each piece can take months to produce.

The Artists
Adrian Firth, Tessa Hunkin, Claire Milner and Ed Chapman, some of the world's most acclaimed mosaic artists, have all been commissioned to produce international mosaic projects at the highest level. They have honed their expertise in the ancient and delicate art of renovation of intricate mosaics in landmark cathedrals and important cultural heritage sites, as well as developing contemporary installations in public and private spaces.

The Process:

above: clockwise from upper left, Byzantine mosaic as inpiration, peacock artwork, peacock set in gems and detail.

The Craftsmen:

detail of the final product:

Their craftsmen have between them over 100 years experience in creating magnificent pieces of jewellery for acclaimed designers, celebrities, royalty, and private clients. Each Gemstone Creative piece is intricately assembled, and depending on size will use anywhere from several thousand to tens of thousands of gemstones which are all individually set in precious metal, be it gold, silver, or platinum. Gemstone Creative has spent a considerable amount of time sourcing, developing, and perfecting the artistic process.

The final product:

Ethical Sourcing (No blood diamonds!):

They only source quality gemstones and precious metals. Their suppliers follow the guidelines laid out by the Responsible Jewellery Council which is committed to promoting responsible ethical, human rights, social, and environmental practices in a transparent and accountable manner throughout the industry.

All their suppliers are members of the following trade associations:
• British Jewellers Association (BJA)
• International Coloured Stone Association (ICA)
• London Diamond Bourse and Club
• World Federation of Diamond Bourses

As far as how long it takes to get your custom product, it entirely depends on the size of the piece and the materials it is made from. Our smallest piece, 20cmx20cm, will take approximately 2-3 months to complete and this may increase slightly as the size of the piece gets bigger.

Gemstone Creative is an ambitious collaborative project that has opened a new chapter in the history of mosaic art. The idea is the brainchild of co-founders Sarah Sultman and Mark Hirschel who have spent over one year attentively assembling a team of renowned mosaic artists, specialist jewellery stone setters, and skilled craftsmen whose combined talents have made it technically possible to create complex, contemporary, luxury mosaic pieces.