We Americans Do Love Our Pets

Let’s face it, as a nation we’re in love with our pets.  We celebrate their birthdays, dress them up in cute outfits, send pictures of them to our friends and relatives and generally treat them as if they were our very own children.  You may think this only applies to childless couples, but many families with children not only treat their pet as one of the family, they actually give them preferential treatment!

A $50 Billion Industry

The pet business in the United States is a $50 billion industry, covering everything from pet foods to pet accessories such as leashes, collars, combs, brushes, pest treatments, shampoos and coat conditioners and various other grooming products, to veterinary care, health insurance, and yes, pet portraits.

We pay a fortune to have our pet’s photo taken, whether in a studio or in a natural setting, with Fido’s favorite toys or wearing a bow, a little sweater or even a tuxedo collar.  Even those who have no predisposition whatsoever to dress up their pets still adore them so much that they prominently display their photos in their office workspaces and on their living room walls.

Pet Portraits on Canvas

Now pet lovers can put their beloved pet photos on a canvas, suitable for framing courtesy of PaintYourLife.com.  Much more impressive and lasting than a mere photo, canvas pet portraits are handsome works of art that will help you preserve your memories of your beloved dog, cat or other pet.

We all know that our pets’ lifetimes are much shorter than our own, and all too quickly they go from playful pup or kitten to elderly companion, and then they are gone.  A canvas portrait helps preserve their memories forever in an attractive showpiece you’ll want to display prominently in your home or office.

What Kind of Picture Should I Use?

The best photographs to use for this sort of project are high definition ones; JPGs that are at least 3 megabytes in size.  That way they will blow up nicely for one of the larger size paintings.  Sizes range from 11 by 14 inches to 40 by 60 inches.  If you don’t yet have a picture, consider using your camera’s maximum picture size of 5 to 10 megapixels when you snap your photos, especially if you plan to go with one of the larger sizes.

Amazing Layouts

You can choose from a variety of layouts, and make your picture into a split canvas, grouping or collage instead of just a single panel canvas.  Creating canvas pet portraits is a splendid way of showing off and enjoying your pet’s photographic attributes while at the same time finding a creative way to decorate your living space!

Retro Pop Art Makes a Comeback

If you’re looking for a bright and colorful new look for your living spaces, consider vintage 1950s pop art in the form of fun furniture, wall murals and oil on canvas paintings.

After its debut in England in the early 1950s, pop art swept the United States in the later part of the decade with its banal, ironic and popular culture artwork.  Intended to be a slap in the face to traditional fine art aficionados, pop art was created with the idea of being the peoples’ art, something that everyone could afford and enjoy, as opposed to the elitist nature of previous styles of art.

Make Your Own Pop Art

Today you can make your own canvas pop art by uploading your favorite photos and/or artwork to PaintYourLife.com, where it will be converted into paintings on canvas, suitable for framing.  You can decorate your whole house for the price you might pay for one decent piece of art from a local gallery.

Pop art explores the world of commercialism and popular culture in a variety of ways, from abstract to graphic art, to the red, green and blue (RGB) layers treatment which is immensely popular today.  It’s at once kitsch, retro and clean, honest fun, experimenting with comic book characters, iconic personas and rampant commercialism.

Pop Art Groupings

For a really amazing look, group four, six or eight nearly identical pop art images together; images that are differentiated by variations in color, a style which is in itself a familiar pop art theme.  Another popular scheme is to have the images change slightly from frame to frame, almost creating an animated effect.

Pop art is colorful by nature, and adds a pop of color to any room.  It’s an ideal complement to minimalist décor, clean lines and ultra modern furniture.  It has a unique ability to feel at once retro and sentimental and at the same time modern and futuristic.  It’s reminiscent of a time when society embraced modern ideals, exciting new prospects and the space race.

Bring back the feelings of hope for the future, scientific exploration and comic book heroes with your very own canvas pop art, made from your photographs or artwork to brighten your living spaces with a personalized, artistic touch.  It’s great for any room in the house, from the living room to the kitchen, bedrooms and bath.  You’ll love the bright colors and clean, modern lines of this 60-year-old art form that’s at once a blast from the past and yet still a sign of the times.

Make Mom Smile With a Fabulous Photo on Canvas

Mother’s day is quickly approaching, and once again, you’re probably stumped for a unique and creative way to surprise her.  Why not put your favorite photo on canvas with a lovely frame for her to cherish forever?

You’ve brought her breakfast in bed, with the burnt toast, the muddy coffee, the runny eggs and the wilted bacon.  You’ve hand colored so many cards that she graciously saved, but let’s face it, she probably only did that out of a sense of love and loyalty.  You’ve sent her candy, flowers, even pajamas.

If you want to send Mom something that she will truly cherish this year, and not only save forever but actually hang on her wall, give her a picture of yours truly – or her grandkids, cleverly reproduced on a canvas base to look and feel like an oil painting.

Photographs Fade Away

Let’s face it, no matter what kind of paper they’re printed on, photographs eventually fade.  Not only that, you usually have to drag out a bulky photo album to look at them.  Even framed photographs lose their luster and begin to look dull.  A photo on canvas, however, will last a lifetime and provide a life size portrait style painting that will bring a smile to her face every time she looks at it!

Always a Treasured Gift

It’s a universal truth; Mom loves pictures of her kids and grandkids.  Whether it’s a hand drawn likeness, a Polaroid photo or an 8 X 10 glossy, she’ll treasure it always.  Imagine the look on her face when she sees this classic, painting-style photo on canvas!  She can hang this in a prominent place on the wall and enjoy it always.

Take the Mother’s Day Challenge

All you need is a camera and a little imagination.  Find the perfect backdrop for the most amazing picture Mom has ever seen.  Let the colors pop and the action roll.  This type of picture treatment deserves the very best photograph that you can take, so go all out for a creative, totally awesome composition.

Paint Your Life even offers expert photo retouching at no extra charge, so don’t worry if there’s a small flaw in your picture.  Wipe out the blemishes, the extra arm in the background, redeye effect, or even scratches in your favorite old photos.  Ask about increasing the color saturation for a brighter, more intense picture.  Make Mom’s picture the absolute best it can be this Mothers Day!

Having Your Portrait Painted is Easier than You Think

You don’t have to sit painfully still for hours on end and pay thousands of dollars to have your portrait painted.  Now you can have it done from a photograph at a fraction of the cost!

Having a professional portrait painted used to be a pastime of the idle rich.  After all, they had plenty of time on their hands and plenty of money to pay a professional artist to do the work.  Most of us are much too busy, however, to sit for a professional portrait, and we’d rather spend the money on more necessary things – like food!

Did you ever get that really good photo, however, and think, “this would make a wonderful painting,” if only you were good enough to make it into one?  PaintYourLife.com has a team of highly skilled and talented artists on staff who can reproduce your photo on canvas, capturing all of the ambiance of the moment in a genuine, professionally painted portrait.

Family Heirlooms

A professional portrait makes a wonderful family heirloom.  Most of us have been to someone’s house and been impressed by a stunning portrait of their great grandmother or some other prominent member of the family.  Unlike photographs, paintings get handed down from generation to generation.  They’re sturdy.  They’re solid.  They’re art.  Not to mention they cover up the stain on the wall.

A portrait can be used to commemorate a momentous occasion, such as college graduation, winning an important award or the birth of a child.  Imagine trying to sit for a portrait with a small baby!  And the wonderful thing about painting from a photograph is that it can be an old photograph.  So if Mom has a few more wrinkles than she did on the day you were born, you can recapture her youth and beauty with a stunning portrait of both of you that she’ll cherish forever.  What a great Mother’s Day gift!

Commemorative Portraits

Sometimes people pass on before we get a chance to commemorate them for all of the great work they’ve done helping out at the youth center, or the senior center or hospice.  What a great way to remember them, with a professionally painted portrait that can hang in a prominent place, so that they can continue to smile down on their charges long after they’re gone.

Whatever the occasion, when you let PaintYourLife.com’s talented artists paint your photo on canvas, you’re sure to be thrilled with the results!