Ordering Your Pet Portrait - Pet Art, by One of the Leading Pet Artists, how much will it cost?

With a background as a custom picture framer, and because I am almost obsessive about "presentation", it has been my policy and practice to routinely cut custom, triple mats for each and every pet portrait that I ship. Mats are selected to complement the colors of the portrait, of course, but if your home decor demands a certain tone, your input is carefully considered in the final selection of colors. There is no additional charge for these mats. Triple mats come with every pet portrait, every people portrait, everything I sell! I wouldn't send my work to you any other way. Triple mats add so much to the beauty of art pieces. I address the matter of protecting art on paper in another section of this site, but dry mounting is so crucial to the long term appearance of a pet portrait done on paper, that I regard it as not so much of a "feature", as an IMPERATIVE! Paper is very, very susceptible to moisture, even at what seems like fairly low levels of humidity in a home, and even when framed and "safely" under glass. When paper absorbs humidity, it stretches, causing the characteristic warping and puckering you see in so many paper prints and photos in your home. Dry mounting is a process in which paper is permanently adhered to a rigid, stable, acid free substrate, most often a product called foam core board. Custom framers use it for backer boards, and when dry mounting is called for (usually an extra cost item offered to a customer), acid free, 3/16" foam board is usually the backer board of choice, as it will never warp from humidity, nor cill any acids negatively effect the appearance of the art. I would never consider offering art on paper to customers, without this service, so it is routinely done for you at no additional cost. With over 10 years as a custom picture framer in my background, I still maintain my basic equipment, and my wholesale buying connections, to offer full, custom framing of all my commissioned pet portraits, at rock bottom prices. I use only high quality, solid wood frame moldings, glass, a dust cover on the rear of the framing, hangers and plastic coated wire. Custom framing on the pet poortraits is an option only, and not something I aggressively push. It's not in my nature to be a high pressure sales type, and there simply isn't enough net profit, for what I charge...a standard, flat fee of $75 (a small fraction of the cost you'll pay to have the portrait framed locally by a professional frame shop). OK, I've referenced "costs" in a roundabout way, at several points already, on this page, By now you're probably saying, "Get to the point, how much IS this portrait going to cost me?" :-) Ummmm, no, not that much! LOL I've kept my prices low, lower, lowest, for a good long time. A pet portrait which averages about 16" x 20" (about 20" x 24" when matted and framed) is very economically priced at only $225. I have compared my pet portraits with those of many of my competing pet artists, and the single biggest difference I see is in pricing, certainly not in quality. Most of the leading pet portrait, pet art creators (and "people" portrait artists) start at least double my cost. It must be considered an even better deal, though, because with my background as a custom picture framer, and my insistence that my portraits be presented to customers in their best possible light, I routinely triple mat each and every portrait, at no additional cost! Then, add in the fact that every pet portrait is dry mounted, at no extra cost... For those folks who might want a much larger portrait, the pastel paper I have used, and much prefer, is now available in the States in 24" x 36": sheets. If you have a larger home, and a larger budget, a portrait that size will run $400. For either size portrait, these two price quotes are for a single pet in the portrait. If you wish to have additional pets portrayed, in the smaller size, each extra pet will cost you $50...in the 24" x 36", extra pets will run $100 each. There is a practical limit, aesthetically, because as you add more pets, each pet has to be made smaller, to fit that size portrait that you've chosen. The only other "extra cost" possibility, might be that you want a special, highly detailed background in your portrait. I'd want to discuss this on a case by case basis, before committing to a price quote. These prices do not include shipping charges, but I only add the exact amount of the shipping cost. UPS has been my shipper of choice for a good many years, but their increases this year alone are so outrageous that I have switched to DHL. Framed portraits which are shipped anywhere in the continental US will average only about $15 - $20, and that's all you'll pay. I do not price to make a profit on shipping! If there's a better deal out there, especially for pet portraits of the highest standards of excellence, I have yet to find it. In addition, I have always done business on a "Good Faith" payment basis. Not a penny of deposit is required; you only pay when you have the finished portrait in your hands, and can approve of the work I've done for you. Returrn to Pet Artist Home Page Send Me Your Comments or Questions about this Site, or Ordering A Pet Portrait This site features pet art, pet portraits, pet artist, pet portrait, pet portraiture, portrait artist , pet portrait artist, people portraits, dog portraits, portrait painting, animal portraits, portrait artists, family portrait, and senior portraits.