Why I paint animals

Although I sometimes step out of my comfort zone and paint people, flowers or landscapes, my primary subjects is – and I suspect always will be – animals. Why do I paint animals? Glad you asked! Read on!

For as long as I remember, I’ve always loved animals. When I was a little kid, I would always look for critters when going on walks with my family. I would love seeing birds singing in the sky, squirrels climbing trees, and rodents looking for food in the fields. I’ve always been more comfortable in nature among plants and animals, than in a city, surrounded by concrete, buildings and cars. I’m not sure where that preference comes from. I think I was just born that way. One of my childhood friends grew up to be the opposite: she loves cities and does not feel comfortable in nature. She will take a long walk down the busy streets of a big city anytime over a mountain hike. I’m the exact opposite.

I have been surrounded by animals my whole life. I grew up with cats, had several hamsters, a guinea pig at one point, and I dreamed of having a dog when I was about 8 years old, although my parents were against it. I now understand where they were coming from. A dog is a lot of work and as a child, I wouldn’t have been able to take full responsibility for the animal even though I strongly believed I could.

The thing that draws me to animals mostly, I think, is the fact that we can create a bond with a creature so fundamentally different.

Animals are a big part of nature and I believe that’s why I love painting them so much. Painting an animal portrait helps connect me to nature. They are fascinating, so similar and yet different from us. So intelligent but in a different way than we humans are. They don’t have notions of time, money, or valuables. Their life is so much more simple. But despite all those differences, we are very much capable of creating strong bonds with them.

Take pets for instance. How amazing is it that cats and dogs can be part of our families? They can truly be our friends and even though we cannot speak with them, we manage to communicate and understand each other. Pets are incredible. That’s why I decided to offer custom pet portraits in my shop. I just love painting the portrait of a furry family member and hear about their story.

I use bright colors to depict animals the way I see them: as intelligent beings, each with their own personality and quirks. The portrayal of animals is such a wide subject. From wild to domestic, animals are so diverse. I will never bore of depicting them.

How about you readers, what makes you like animals?

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