Artist paints unique images of animals in old world-style

WASHINGTON – The models in Carol Lew’s intricately-made oil paintings are as far from ordinary as one can imagine.

For instance, there is Captain Rooster dressed in a black and red uniform with fur cape, adorned with gold buttons and embellishments.

Maurice Purrdeaux wears a red jacket and matching hat, complete with a white feather. He has a distinctly handsome black, white and whiskered cat face.

The very gentlemanly Alfred Cocker is, well, a Cocker Spaniel, sporting a button-down brown outfit. He’s shown against a red velvet-looking curtain.

Mrs. Lew paints old world animal portraits and has sold hundreds of them all over the United States, Canada and some parts of Europe.

Paints dogs and other pets

She has painted all kinds of dogs from bulldogs and chihuahuas to mastiffs and Shih Tzus, dozens of cats and even pet goats, a guinea pig, rooster and turkey, all in fancy historical “human”  portraiture and attire.

She has a website, carrollew.com, as well as an online Etsy store titled Old World Pet Portraits.

A New Jersey native, Mrs. Lew moved to the Berkshires in 1985. She and her husband, Kent, live in a very old – as in 1800s – farmhouse on Washington Mountain, surrounded by fields and country vistas.

It appears to be a perfect setting in which to pursue one’s love of painting. At a desk near windows through which light pours from outside, Mrs. Lew sketches a dog from a photo. It’s going to be her next work of art.

Paintings from photographs

Customers send her photographs of the pets for commissioned paintings. An 11 by 14 inch finished painting, without frame, costs $450. A 12 by 16 inch goes for $500 and a 16 by 20 inch, $550.

Prints of paintings that have been completed cost as little as $10.

The artist attended the Philadelphia College of Art and then worked in management. She left her job in order to paint.

An artist friend told her about a painting restorer who put dogs’ faces on old portraits. Mrs. Lew, who loves primitive portraits, found the idea quite fascinating.

“It was such a fun thing to do,” she said.

She began to paint dog faces on, for instance, outfits worn in portraits of King Louis XIV, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Marie Antoinette and Napoleon.

A dachshund makes a perfect Anne of Cleves, and an adorable kitty can be seen in portrait titled “Cat with a Pearl Earring.”

Portraits on wine bottle labels

Mrs. Lew’s animal creations can even been seen on bottle labels of Napa Valley’s Frenchie wine. The owner of the winery, who married into the famed Gallo family, commissioned her to paint several portraits of a white French bulldog.

Mrs. Lew, as the artist, is identified on the backs of the bottles. She is proud of the fact that a dollar from each wine bottle sold goes to the ASPCA (American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals).

While she remains very busy all year painting peoples’ pets in old world-style, Christmas is her businest time of year. Sometimes she works on more than 15 paintings all at one time.

Mrs. Lew said commissioning a portrait is a fun way to remember a pet.

“It brings a smile to your face,” she said, adding that humans usually outlive their beloved pets. She urges pet owners to take lots of photographs while their pets are still living, in case they want portraits once the pet dies.

“If you have a pet that you adore, and perhaps a bit of a silly side, then this kind of portrait might be just the thing for you!,” the artist noted on her website. “ For many, a commissioned portrait has been a fun way to indulge their love for a pet, add a bit of “formal whimsy” to their decor, or give a delightful gift to an animal lover.”

Loves working with pet owners

She also said for her, “one of the most enjoyable aspects of working on commissions is the chance to brainstorm with pet owners about themes, costume ideas, favorite toys and symbols that best capture the unique qualities of their pet.

“Life never gets too serious when my workday includes conversations like, ‘I think we should put a necklace on Mindy (the Boston terrier)’ and ‘What do you think about a red dress with puffy sleeves?'” she added. “It’s great fun for the owners, too.”

Passionate about animals

Mrs. Lew is a very small-statured woman with short blond hair and glasses. She is passionate about animals and is currently a volunteer at the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter, where she has also served as a board member.

She and her husband have two dogs, Freckles, who is blind, and Walter, and two cats, Barney and Cutie Patootie. By the way, Walter is a lucky dog, as he gets massages from Cutie.

On her website, Mrs. Lew has said that she delights in “finding ways to bring a strong sense of personality to my models.”

Her paintings, she said, portray her love of animals, country life and history.

In her own words, she said she paints her animal subjects with “simplicity, directness and a touch of whimsy.”

One look at her fabulous gallery of finished portraits would lead one to believe that she has definitely succeeded.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on October 4, 2012. Filed under Arts and Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry