Lots of people probably commission dog portraits but not many get what Connecticut artist, Valerie Leonard creates. Like a true dog lover, Leonard doesn’t think of dogs as “just pets” but knows they’re an integral member of a family. As a way to celebrate this fact, she creates elaborate oil paintings in the style of old human portraits but with a dog at the center.

Pet Portraits Painted

For example, she painted a detailed portrait of a bulldog a la King Henry VIII, a striking picture of a dog posed like Princess Elizabeth I (both above), and a poodle as Marie Antoinette. As ABCNews reports, Leonard gets her inspiration from famous masterpieces and their well-known subjects, but also from posters or family photos.

She said, “The fun that I get out of doing these, it’s slightly dark. And it is supposed to be funny, but it’s supposed to be darkly funny, and people either love it or hate it.”

Leonard has received requests from all over the world to paint a family pet in a certain style. To achieve her masterpieces she spends time strategizing and finds the best way to turn pups into dog-human hybrids. While the paintings are not cheap and can cost over $1,000, each client gets a unique work of art that will live on long after their pet does (dog walking services nyc).

Leonard said, “Even if you see one of these and you don’t know the background, you don’t know the animals, you don’t know the paintings, everyone smiles…You get a chuckle out of it because you see the imposition, morphing into a new thing.”

We totally agree! Here are some more great portraits via ABCNews, all painted by Valerie Leonard of VL Designs.

Sources: ABCNews, Valerie Leonard/VL Designs