It had to happen.

Once Chattanoogans started wagging their tails for boutique doggie biscuits, pushing doggie strollers and buying organic kitty food, they naturally wanted a pet portrait to grace the family mantel.

Artistic renderings of the family animal are a trend, local artists report.

“People are spending more money on their pets, and pets are being treated much more like family members. It’s a natural extension to want a portrait of your pet,” said Chattanooga artist Brandon Anthony.

Not all artists, however, think this is a new phenomenon.

“I’ve been doing (pet portraits) for about 20 years,” said Susan Hughes, a Chattanooga and Sparta, Tenn., artist represented by Portrait Brokers of America.

“My clients have the disposable income to afford these luxury items,” she said. “They have always had portraits done of themselves and of their pets.”

Several local artists say portraits of family pets are becoming a steady part of their business.

“Pet portraits are big,” said Red Bank artist Beth Gumnick.

Not surprisingly, a pet portrait career begins at home for many artists.

Dennis Palmer, a local artist and co-founder of the Shaking Ray Levi Society, owns three cats and a dog. “They end up being subject matter quite a bit,” he said.

Michael Holsomback, a painting instructor at Chattanooga State Technical Community College, owns five dogs and four cats.

“I love animals, and I love painting them. For me it’s inherently easier, and they don’t question whether it looks like them or not,” he said.

Artist Dana Shavin cares for three dogs: Bella, Shark and Brie.

“My own animals are endlessly fascinating. Their little quirks show up in my paintings. All the dogs I paint are white dogs, for example, and I don’t have any white dogs. But the (painted dogs) are the spirit of my dogs, without being my dogs.”

Some artists found their way into pet portraiture through old doors.

On a lark, Beth Gumnick, a Red Bank artist, ventured into animal painting.

Several years ago, she and a friend, actress Shani Hedden, painted a 16-panel door featuring Stella and Ms. Hedden’s cat, Max, in famous historic paintings.

The panels include “Birth of Stella,” an homage to Botticelli; Stella as Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa;” a black block with curled tale inspired by Rothko’s “Blues” and a Roy Lichtenstein knockoff featuring a cartoon balloon reading “If Only I Had Thumbs.”

She bought her first portrait of her Stella on eBay.

Today, her collection of “Stella” portraits includes a cartoon by a former Disney animator and original portraits of Stella by Mr. Palmer, Ms. Hedden and former Baylor School teacher Liz Boggan.

Since then, she also has become a self-taught artist. Among her subjects are graphic, almost abstract dogs. She also paints commissioned portraits of pets for others.

And, of course, she still paints Stella.

“Yes, I’m a crazy animal lover. It goes all the way through all of my art,” Ms. Gumnick said.

The Commission Scene

Various Chattanooga animals have been enshrined in art.

“I’ve painted donkeys, gerbils, roosters and stuffed toy dogs,” Ms. Shavin said.

Most artists work from pictures. Most also interview the owner before beginning and meet the pet when they can.

“I like to find out certain things that owners do with their pet, what’s their favorite toy and is there some unique thing they feel their pet does,” Mr. Palmer said.

Prices range from about $50 to $1,000 and up, depending on size and experience and market price of the artist.

Sometimes, the work becomes more powerful than expected.

Jonathan Willard, assistant principal at Battlefield Elementary in Fort Oglethorpe, never considered having a portrait painted of his family’s chihuahua, Missy.

Then, his wife presented him with one as a birthday present last October.

“It’s not something I would ever think to go out and purchase,” he said. “But now that it’s been done I can say, ‘you need to do it. It’s cool, it’s cool.’”

A short time later, Missy passed away.

“I’ll be honest with you,” he continued, “for the longest time I could not look at it. Michael (Holsomback) captured the dog — the eyes, the expression — he has this gift of capturing that soul of the animal, or spirit, if that makes any sense — it’s pretty intense.”

A talented pet portrait artist aims to express the essence of the subject, artists said.

“I’ve always been an animal person,” Ms. Hughes said, “I feel like I speak their language.”

Tech Talk