More than canvas and color: Artist paints portraits of beloved pets

Holly Anson holds a painting of the two donkeys she found in a local field. She thought they needed their portraits made.
Holly Anson holds a painting of the two donkeys she found in a local field. She thought they needed their portraits made.

Professional pet painter Holly Anson has a sure way of getting to know the bird or animal coming to her for a portrait.
She asks the owner, "What makes your pet special?"

Owners seem to have no problem in lavishing praise.
"Most owners will have spoiled their favorite pet immensely and so have no trouble talking about it," Anson said.
She then strives to paint the pet with emotion, concentrating on the eyes. That's her secret.
The "typical" reaction of the owner at the unveiling?

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STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Todd Shannon with Pruden Restoration looks into a ceiling at the United Methodist Church in Springdale.

"They are really, really, really happy," Anson really said.
Maybe this is so because a painting takes so long to complete. A beautiful photograph takes only an instant. Holly Anson's painting usually take about a week.
One reasons for this is that Anson most often paints in watercolor, and watercolor is a difficult medium. Her watercolors are built up with layer after layer to achieve the depth and density she wishes.
The artist's skills to paint in watercolor also build slowly, Holly said.

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STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Todd Shannon, project director with Pruden Restoration, looks over fans and dehumidifiers Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Springdale. A supply line for the church s sprinkler system froze and burst. Thousands of gallons of water poured into the church. Many fire alarms were activated in the recent cold snap from burst pipes.

"A lot of artists enjoy doing pet art, but much of the time they don't choose watercolor. Acrylic might be the preferred medium to start. Acrylic is fairly easy to manipulate. If you can think of the subject and have the skill to draw it, then you can paint it using acrylic without too much extra skill."
Anson said she prefers to limit herself to subjects she knows she will enjoy painting. She has done horses, fish and once, for a family member, an airplane.
"While others were with their pets, he'd be out flying the airplane. So I painted the pet airplane," she said with a smile.
She's also painted the "pet husband."
"The woman said her only pet was her husband, so he got painted-and liked it, too."
Anson has lived in Atlanta for 11 years. Born in Chicago, she moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1969 where she taught school for the hearing-impaired for 25 years. She has a master's degree in special education. When she retired, she came here.
Anson said she had an artistic childhood. Her mother, Evelyn Miles, was also an artist who painted animals. Her uncle was an architect, and her father, William Miles, was "good in math," which helped, she said.
"I had taken some art courses in college but decided I didn't want to teach art, just do it," she said.
Anson's creations can be seen at Local Creations Art Studio in Atlanta.

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