Robyn Millar

What is an Animal Doppelgänger you ask? It’s what I like to call photos of my Pet Portrait paintings next to their real life pet – my favourite pix ever! 

I received the funnest email recently!! Packed to the brim with “animal doppelgänger” pictures of cuties Daisy, Ruby, Stewie, Sasha & Archie posing next to their multiple pet portrait. This piece was my first painting with five subjects together on one canvas, and I’m so excited that the whole family (puppies included) loved it, and that the whole pack was willing to get some pix taken.

To take a peek at the pictures, check out this Facebook photo album HERE.
(ps – you don’t need a facebook account to view the album 🙂 )

Are you searching for a unique Mother’s Day gift? A personalized painting may be the answer!

Whether the momma you’d like to spoil has young children, full grown kids, grand children, or even pets (aka fur babies lol) – we can find the perfect piece of art to suite her taste. And it doesn’t matter if you’re the plan ahead, spontaneous, last minute, or belated type of gift giver – we got you covered there too! Here are some fun gift ideas for that special mum in your life…

Plan ahead type:
Minimalist style portraits – modern black & white kids portraits with a pop of colour in the background.
Order time: Approximately 2 weeks (plus shipping time if applicable).

Spontaneous type:
Circle Art Series or Tile Series – Small scale abstracts available in a variety of colours to accent any space.
Order time: None! Select from a wide range of completed works from either Series. (Custom colours can be custom ordered too though).

Last minute type:
Gift Certificate – Available for the painting style of your choosing.
Order time: 1-2 days for printed version (plus shipping time if applicable), or same day is possible too with an emailed pdf version instead.

Belated type:
Any of the above!!

Custom options are of course a possibility also.

Examples of: Minimalist Portraits (left), Circle Art (middle), Tile Series (right).

Mother’s Day isn’t limited to just you and your own mom of course – Celebrate the grandmothers and other moms in your life too (whether your sister has children, or best friend, and so on) with a phone call, hug, flowers, lunch, however you want to tell her you love her and make her feel special 🙂 …Not that you don’t do these things throughout the year as well, but you know what I mean 😉

Happy Mother’s Day!! <3

Earlier in the month I got to spend some time with Mr Nero the adorable Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and was also able to get some new “doppelgänger” snaps of him too!

I guess I should jump in with why I call them “doppelgänger” pix since I haven’t blogged much about them… YET! (More coming from now on I promise!) – Well when you whittle it down, doppelgänger means ‘look-a-like’ (without being a twin)… so I thought it was quite fitting when I heard of the word and it kind of just stuck from then on out lol.

Anywho, here are some snaps of Nero during his impromptu mini-shoot:

No secrets here… treats = success! 😀

We even tried to get some pictures together!

just chillin’

And here it is – my favourite Animal Doppelganger picture of sweet lil Nero:

Nero doppelgänger photo

When in Rome – we also got some pix of his big sister kitty Sweets (pix coming soon!). In the meantime, feel free to check out my facebook photo album of Doppelganger pictures to date HERE.

Do you have your very own pictures of your pet posing with their painting you want to share? Feel free to send them my way, I’d love to feature them!

This little fellow is named Captain Jack, and I was commissioned to paint him in a ‘close up’ style (which I love!) by his mom after she saw my “Charlie’s Eye” piece in my portfolio.

Right off the bat I want to share a cute lil note I got about this wee Brussels Griffon from his mom in our initial emails:

“My dog has a cleft lip which caused a crooked nose and a tooth that sticks up into his nose and it’s just the cutest little thing ever!  We love that he is different and special.”

10″x10″ painting (left), printed reference photo (right)

So cute! She adores his “tooth in nose” (which she lovingly tags in all of his Instagram photos), so it was no surprise that she opted to have a close up style for his painting.

Most of the time when I paint custom Pet Art, I have to keep it under wraps for a while as it’s a surprise gift for someone’s birthday, or Christmas, or what have you. However in this case, I was given the green light to post progress pictures along the way which was fun! Since Jack’s mom and I met on Instagram, I thought it was only fitting to share the pictures on there first before Facebook where I usually debut new pix (See! It’s a perk to follow me on Instagram too 🙂 – you get the sneakiest of sneak peeks! Username: @ArtByRobynMillar).

Regarding my signature, usually I sign my Pet Portraits on the side because of the smaller scale of the canvases I don’t want to distract away from the pets… however, it’s possible to have it on the front if a client likes, which I never say no to of course 🙂

logo in bottom corner

Coming soon: doppelgänger photos of Captain Jack posing next to his portrait! So excited.

Not familiar with Instagram and would like to be? Read HERE. If you are, feel free to stop by and say “hey” 😉

A client contacted me to create a multiple Pet Portrait for her to give her husband for his birthday as a surprise gift. Today is his birthday!! And so I get to reveal here my very first multiple portrait with FIVE pets on one canvas!! New record 🙂

This client is my hero, they managed to snap a reference photo of all five puppies together posing nice and cute over the back of their sofa. The perfect reference photo for a painting of their pack of 5! Here is a little facebook tradition I started, they’re coined ’50/50′ pictures, showing a split screen between the original reference photo and the finished painting. Check it out:

50/50 split – top: painting / bottom: reference photo

For this painting my client selected a light blue background colour, and a brown blanket (vs the light pink as shown in the pic) to keep things subtle and complimentary. She also opted to leave their collars in, vs having them removed, and I think it turned out nicely with them in so good call D! 😀

And just for fun, here are a couple of closer up detail shots:

detail of Daisy (left), Ruby (middle), and Stewie (right)

detail of Sasha (left) and Archie (right)

I hope he has a great day spent with his family and pack of puppies! Happy bday!

Look what I discovered in Avenue Magazine’s April 2013 issue! Three sets of my paintings are shown in one of their local reno features! 🙂

First up – we have my ‘Architectural’ triptych in their living room, which is first shown in the table of contents on pg 20, then featured on pg 114, and is also shown again on pg 116! Second – on page 115 you can catch my custom Pet Portraits of adorable Luke & Lily in their kitchen. A photo of Luke can be found on page 116 also.

‘Architectural’ triptych shown on pg 114 & ‘Luke’ and ‘Lily’ pet portraits shown on pg 115

And thirdly – we have my ‘Metropolitan’ diptych that was custom made to fit snugly over their king bed in their master bedroom, which is featured on page 118, then also shown again on pg 129.

‘Metropolitan’ diptych shown on pg 118

The home featured in this article is owned by one of the nicest couples you will ever meet! I’ve had the pleasure to paint multiple custom pieces for them over the years. And I was super excited to hear that Avenue Magazine planned to do a feature on their home, I just wasn’t sure when it was being published. Well today I saw the article, and I couldn’t be happier that THREE of my painting sets are shown! Super exciting!

Here is a link to the online version of the magazine (although I’m not sure how long the link is active for) if you’d like to take a peek:
http://cdn1.avenuecalgary.com/avenue-digital-issues/apr2013/index.html

____________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE (Apr 29th)
Here is a direct link to an article on this reno (again not sure how long the link is live for, but check it out if you can):
http://www.avenuecalgary.com/articles/home-decor-a-spec-house-becomes-the-perfect-custom-modern-home
____________________________________________________________________________

Luke & Lily are the adorable cats of a couple I’ve had the pleasure to paint various custom artwork sets for over the years. On one of my visits to their home I got to interact with these little kitties and snap some photos of them. And the painted portraits of Luke & Lily are actually the first to date where I’ve taken the reference photo (vs client submitting them), which was kind of neat!

And not only did I take the reference photos, I also had the opportunity to photograph the pet portraits being opened while the cats investigated and  interacting with them! Was so cute:

Lily

Luke

For the background colour we went with a subtle grey tone, as to compliment the contemporary home’s monochromatic finishings.

Lily painting shown on wall against their modern kitchen finishings. (this photo is courtesy of Just for Kix Photography)

What an incredibly cute pair Luke & Lily are!

‘Luke’ & ‘Lily’ | 10″x10″ each | shown on wall (this photo is courtesy of Just for Kix Photography)

For more information on my custom Pet Portrait painting possibilities, check out my Pet Portrait page HERE.

A client approached me to paint custom artwork for their master bedroom, and after meeting at their home and taking in their newly renovated fantastic modern finishings, we went with this contemporary abstract in the colours of their decor – A mono-chromatic home in creams and greys, with splashes of white and black accents and copper flecks in their tile. And here we have a perfectly scaled and coordinated work of art over their king bed:

‘Metropolitan’ diptych | 84″ x 24″ | acrylic on canvas | shown on client’s wall

planning & sketches for ‘Metropolitan’

Detail shots of this commissioned set can be found in the ‘Custom Art’ tab of my website. For more information on custom artwork commissions, please feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to help 🙂

These custom panels were made for a client’s contemporary living room to add an architectural element to a spot on the wall that would be overwhelmed by an abstract or photographs etc due to nearby feature walls. As not to take away from or compete with surrounding art, we wanted to do something here that was subtle and almost ‘built in’ looking, in a sense almost blending into the wall… So I painted three abstract 20″x20″ birch panels utilizing their wall colour and a variety of grey undertones.

‘Architectural’ triptych | 20″x20″ each | acrylic on panel | shown on client’s wall

From afar they look like they are part of the wall, casting bold shadows on an otherwise clear white space, creating a subtle focal point. Upon closer inspection, you will see that the surfaces have a variety of distress marks which add warmth and visual interest. Overall, this set is clean and simple, yet a dramatic impact with a contemporary edge – fitting in seamlessly with their decor.

This was the first time I painted in this style, and I gotta say… Sometimes the simplest design is the most complicated to pull off, because the end result is supposed to look effortless. Easier said than done lol, but in the end I’m quite happy with how they turned out:

straight on view

My client, their designer, and I clearly communicated what the end result was to look like, it was executed as such, they were happy with the end result, and proudly hang this triptych in their living room. So I couldn’t be happier with them.

On a funny side note – When I’ve shown this set to others, the odd person would comment “I could do that” or “that’s art?” and I can’t help but chuckle. You can’t win everybody over, that’s just the nature of it all… but if you and your client are happy with the commission in the end, then these kind of quips bounce off you (and let’s be honest – you gotta have a thick skin in the arts!). Art means something different to everybody and that truly is the beauty of it all.