An animal-loving artist has been “putting some positivity out into the world” by painting people’s pets in miniature. Alex Birchmore, 33, began the quirky endeavour in 2014. One of her first paintings was of a three-legged black and white rescue lurcher called Cassie which her late grandmother owned.
She has since painted about 150 mini pictures of a vast array of pets, from dogs to cats, horses, rabbits and hamsters. “I thought it would be a nice way for people to have a portrait of their pets without breaking the bank,” Mrs Birchmore, who lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, told the PA news agency.
“I get a real satisfaction from the work because when you highlight areas of the animals in the right way you can really make the painting look like it is full of life. “I often depict dead pets and people get quite emotional, it’s really wholesome.”.
She uses photos of pets sent to her by customers as a guide. “I do a quick sketch on the canvas to pinpoint where their eyes, nose and mouth would be placed,” she added. “When I first started, I used acrylic paint and now I use oil-based paint. “I usually start with the eyes and then work outwards from there and I try and make sure there’s a bit of thickness in the paint so you can tell it is hand painted, which is really important for people, especially nowadays in the age of AI.”.
