I’ve seen lots of pet artwork over the years, but the work by Patricia Otero is quite possibly the most incredible I’ve ever seen. When I first saw a video of her painting, I had to take a double take as I realized this wasn’t an actual cat I was viewing, but a painting of a feline. To say that Patricia’s artwork is mesmerizing is truly an understatement.
For her work, often Patricia using low-quality photographs as a reference and adds in fine details to really make her art come to life. For smaller pieces, it can take her anywhere from 30-40 hours to complete, with larger portraits running 50 to 100 hours—or even more. She remains positive while she works and doesn’t allow negative energy in, and Patricia says that it “means the world to her” that others feel joy when viewing her art.
Each and every day, she spends anywhere from five to ten hours strictly painting. She is truly dedicated to delivering her best work each and every time, and it’s easy to see that by looking at her magnificent work. And when she’s not busy painting, she has six terriers to keep her busy!
Final painting of Panda, Grizzly and Kodiak. And the following is the gratitude expressed by her gracious client:
“Panda was our first search and rescue dog and our first Border Collie and we fell in love with the breed ever since. He was very sweet, loving and loyal. Grizzly is still with us and is an energizer bunny and loves to play, he never tires and loves his tennis balls. His tongue is always hanging out of his mouth. Kodiak was a very sweet girl, we lost her this July. She liked to lick people giving them puppy kisses, but was easily distracted and a bit difficult to train at times. Love them each to pieces and they are realistically captured in this artwork.”
Gus, a gorgeous Russian Blue she commissioned for a close friend…
I reached out to Patricia in hopes to ask her a few questions about her award-winning pastel paintings. She was kind enough to take the time to reply to my questions about her artwork and the inspiration behind her passion.
How long have you been creating these pet portraits?
I’ve been creating my portraits professionally for 4 years. But I’ve painted my whole life since I was a little girl.
Oliver the Australian Labradoodle together with Lily and Sophie the Ragdolls:
Ruby and Gracie out of the USA…
Stout of Ireland…
What is the inspiration behind your work?
My inspiration came from nature. Many years ago I moved to the north of Spain, Galicia, in a very rural part of Galicia. Here I connected with nature and started to paint different animals, including dogs. Me and my partner had 3 dogs and eventually ended up having 6 dogs, so I started to be very connected with the dog world and community. I guess nature and my own dogs were my inspiration!
Watch Patricia doing what she does best as she works on Cici the Maine Coon…
Kenzo the cat from Benidorm, Spain…
The expression that she captured on Lucy an Australian shepherd mix is amazing!
Kastor and Daaron of the Netherlands. Those faces!
If you’d like to see more of her work, please follow her on Facebook at Patricia Otero – Canine & Animal Portraits. You can also follow Patricia on Instagram to see even more of her incredible work. I’d like to give a special thank you to Patricia for allowing me to share her work with you all. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
K, of Barcelona, while in progress and complete…
4 gorgeous Weimaraners from a client in Prague: Arrow, April, Cherry and Asher…
For all information regarding commission work (price list, size list, waiting time, etc), you can connect with Patricia directly at patriciaoteroart@gmail.com.
All Images Courtesy of Patricia Otero
