On one of my first naive strolls through Manhattan, I passed a 7-floor building with swanky entryway carpeting and gilt columns, valets at attention, and a large Pomeranian in relief over the front door. “So… this place lets guests bring pets, huh?” I venture to one of the valets. “No, ma’am. This establishment is for canines only.” Screech goes my holy-crap alert. But after that kind of thing, it makes sense that New York claims characters like VCU-trained artist J.T. Yost—he makes his bread painting pet portraits, and where else are there thousands and thousands of tiny Yorkies and Cornish Rexes holed up and spoiled rotten? J.T. knows his business. “People are crazy about their pets. They’ll tell me about their pets’ personality traits for the portraits… a lot of people want their animal walking down the red carpet, or shopping,” he laughs.

His first portrait—a gift for a friend—was an ink and watercolor of a cat playing a banjo, the beginning of what he calls his “peculiar” pet portrait line in which the animal’s face (done from a photo) is paired with a human body. And then there was a rockin’ Chihuahua in a record store, flipping through the goods for a New York Dogs album. Brilliant. “The weirdest one I did was for this guy who had an old, blind male dog… he wanted the dog to be driving an airboat, the kind that you take through swamps, with long, blonde hair flowing behind it. It was his girlfriend’s dog.” J.T. Recently started doing traditional-style oil portraits, no human parts included, and finds that he enjoys the challenge of more definite constraints. They end up being beautiful, often pensive depictions of beloved critters.

J.T. doesn’t do his thing just for kicks, though; there’s a history of animal rights activism, veganism and awareness-raising backing those grinning pooches. Throughout college here in Richmond, he took part in animal-related protests, and now he donates 10% of his profits from the portraits to animal rights organizations like the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (a rescue project for farm animals who have been abused, neglected and abandoned). He also contributes art to fundraising auctions and participates in the Tompkins Square Halloween Parade for dogs and the famous Petco Chihuahua Races. The vegan lifestyle called to him from an unexpected place: none other than the Bloom County comic strip. “The penguin, Opus, was in a fast-food restaurant, raising hell… I don’t know why that of all things raised so many issues for me, but it did. From then on, I never ate meat again.” Hey, angels come in many forms, right? If you’re interested in checking out J.T.’s work or commissioning a portrait of your furry beloved, find him on the Web at primarilypetportraits.com.

WEB | http://www.primarilypetportraits.com

i like that you changed the picture keepin it fresh, cam!