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Portrait painter for pooches


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Published on September 8, 2004

By Kim Yeager

Staff Writer

Carol Peltier took her midlife crisis and turned it into a part-time business. The Minneapolis woman, a part-time occupational therapist, said she has parlayed the angst that accompanied her sojourn into the 50s into a creative outlet: painting portraits of dogs. Working at home, from photographs provided by clients, Peltier paints Fido's visage with acrylics to a finished size of about 15 by 18 inches.



White Bear Press


Painting pooches

Artist creates portraits of man's best friend


Wednesday, December 08, 2004
By Kristine Goodrich
Staff Writer

An afternoon of browsing through antique stores gave artist Carol Peltier her newest inspiration. An old portrait caught her eye not of a great-great grandmother, but of the family dog.

The White Bear Lake native went home and started painting her own dogs. The paintings turned out so well, she said she decided to share her propensity for painting pooches and create similar portraits for others.

In September, she turned her newfound talent into a part-time business. She's completed about 10 portraits since then, and has several more orders waiting to be started, she said.

It takes about a week to finish each portrait, Peltier said, depending on the background and the breed of the dog. She said her favorite breeds are the small ones such as a Shih Tzu or Pekingese.

"I like them all, but the easiest are the little toy dogs with the fluffy hair," she said. "I've done quite a few of them already and I've gotten pretty good at them."

But she also likes a challenge, she added. Currently, she is working on a Brittany spaniel, she said.

"It has very distinct markings," she said. "It's challenging to get the colorings to look like fur to make them look natural."

Her portraits have a unique style, she said, because animal portraits are usually detailed pencil sketches.

"Mine are more like folk art," Peltier said. "They're acrylic paintings and they're very colorful."

They are also very personalized, she said. The dog can be doing its favorite activity, pictured with its favorite toys, or however else the customer wants to remember their pet, she said.

Peltier recently did a portrait for her sister, Dellwood resident Cindy Peltier. Carol gave the painting to her sister after her golden retriever died.

The retriever is pictured doing her favorite pastime, Cindy said, standing knee-deep in White Bear Lake watching minnows.

"It just is touching because it showed her exactly the way she was," Cindy said.

The portrait now sits on her mantel at home, Cindy said. A few of Carol's other paintings are also on display at Waterlily, Cindy's downtown White Bear Lake store, Cindy added.

Although dogs have been her primary subject, Carol said she's also open to also painting cats or other animals. She recently finished a portrait of a cockatiel, she said.

The portraits are an opportunity for people to own an original work of art and remember their pets, Carol said.

"To a lot of people, a pet is like a treasured family member," she said, "and you don't get to have them for very long. Many people they want to have a tangible reminder of their pet."


Kristine Goodrich can be reached at 651-407-1233 or ppnews@sherbtel.net.