Pet portraiture offers a way for owners to enjoy their Labs forever.
by Jillian LaCross
When you look at the artwork of Mindy Sue Werth of Waikoloa, Hawaii, the first word that comes to mind is “vibrant.” Her acrylic paintings apply bold yet precise ribbons of greens, yellows, blues, and pinks across her depictions of native sea life, florals, and seascapes.
But her interests lie beyond simply painting the beautiful world around her. She captures the world of dog owners by capturing forever the likeness of their beloved four-legged companions. The vivid nature of her unique painting style is applied to her pet portraits, which helps to capture the liveliness and joy of her models, especially when it comes to the nature of Labrador retrievers.
Werth got her start in Michigan. An Alpena native, she completed human portraits for several teachers at her high school. She went to college and studied pre-med as well as art with the intention of going on to become a medical illustrator (such as for anatomy books). She graduated early in 2008 only to find the economy not very friendly (as we can all recall). She decided to move out west to spend the summer with her sister, who was in Oregon. Werth found a job in a frame shop and ended up managing it in her early 20s.
She continued with creating new art. Her break into pet portraiture happened when a friend got a new puppy and the husband thought it would be a cool birthday gift to get the dog sketched. The sketch was then framed. “It became this piece of art that they had in their home,” recalls Werth. “Then she showed someone, and it kind of just went from there.”
She hasn’t returned to Michigan, but she continues to paint pet portraits in her home in Hawaii, which she moved to in 2015. She got work in a gallery when she first arrived. Then, the pandemic hit. The galleries closed. “We had to think of different ways to capture people’s attention. Plus, people were home, with their dogs, staring at their walls. And I actually had time. So I started advertising more in Hawaii. I still had clients from Oregon and the mainland, so I was still doing work periodically for them. But it wasn’t until COVID where I was, like, hey, I do this. I’ve kind of just been going solid since then.” Work at the gallery continues, and her pet portraits have found homes all across the United States and Canada. Werth tends to work on multiple portraits at a time, all at different stages. She mixes in working on other projects such as her florals to help break up “all the fur.”
All that fur in Labs presents a unique challenge compared to other breeds. “It’s a very slow process, for black and yellow Labs specifically, because there’s no contrast. Labs tend to have a fuller face, so they don’t have crazy sharp angles, or markings that rottweilers or German shepherds do to break up the face,” explains Werth. Each portrait is constructed freehand with complete attention to detail. Werth wants it to be as perfect as it can be. What do we mean by freehand? “Some people like to make grids on their canvases. Some people transpose the photograph onto the canvas and draw the lines first and then paint. I don’t do any of that. I just paint. From my eyes to my hands, onto the canvas. I call it my realistic impression. I want it to look like a painting, a piece of art, not something that could be a photograph,” says Werth.
Rhonda Pollard hired Werth back in 2017 to paint portraits of her three Labs, Kimo, Margie, and Pepper (see featured image at the beginning of this article), after meeting her on a group hike organized by Pollard for dogs and dog owners. Of course, they got chatting, and Pollard got to see some examples of Werth’s work. “I’m not sure I would have thought to have had paintings done of my dogs if I had not personally met Mindy, but when I saw her work, I just knew I had to have them painted by her,” remarks Pollard. Viewing the portraits, each Lab is presented in a slightly different way, which Mindy does purposefully to capture not just an individual likeness, but a bit of the unique soul of each dog.
The “soul” really is seen best through the eyes. “It’s all about the eyes. If you don’t get the eyes, then it just looks like a generic dog,” says Werth. But if you get the expression in the eyes, it’s clear there’s a personality within. If you have or had multiple dogs, each one is different – and it’s those differences that make them dear to your heart.
Pollard’s three Labs had distinct personalities – and histories. “Kimo was our chocolate Lab who lived to be 13 years old. He was the runt of the litter but pushed through his siblings and strutted right up to us when he was only six weeks old. He was always the social butterfly and loved everyone and everything, especially children…and me. The Hawaiian name ‘Kimo’ means Jim or James, and it was perfect for him. Margie (with the blue collar) and Pepper both came from Hawaii Island Humane Society. When I adopted Margie, the shelter vet said she may have a few weeks to live, she was in such bad health. Come to find out, she had a giant kidney stone the size of a crab cake in her, so after my vet removed it, she was like a whole new dog! She lived another three years, probably the best of her life. And Pepper was supposedly a ‘senior Lab’ when we adopted him, but he lived another eight years and participated in lots of activities including hiking and standup paddleboarding.”
How does Werth go about capturing these special dogs? She spends a lot of time getting to know the dog by hearing stories from the owner, getting pictures of the dog from various angles if possible, and really taking her time during the painting process to depict the animal accurately. If she can meet the dog in person, so much the better – and she takes the opportunity. Getting photos is the toughest part, as many commissions arrive by someone who wants to give the portrait as a gift, and therefore photos are taken on the fly in order not to draw attention. They may not be the best shots, especially when it comes to black Labs.
“I really like to have multiple pictures so I can see [the dog] with different angles. I can see them smiling, and then I can see them serious,” explains Werth.
Pollard recalls sending lots of photos to Werth in preparation for the portrait. “I sent her tons of my favorite photos of the pups,” says Pollard. “It’s important to get good photos of your dogs for paintings.” Since the majority of Werth’s clients aren’t in Hawaii (she’ll take the opportunity to meet the dog if the dog is local), she relies on good photos and videos from the owners.
Another important aspect of painting a successful portrait is understanding who the dog is, his or her character. “I like the owner to tell me about the dog. Tell me a story,” says Werth. The stories help inform her about an individual dog’s personal characteristics, which then inspires her with the overall composition of the portrait.
“That way I might think, okay, this dog should be a little more stoic. Or this dog’s tongue is always out…. Little things like that make the difference. I’m a true animal lover and ‘dog person,’ and I think my ability to connect with these dogs and bring out their unique personalities stems from that.”
But there’s something about a Labrador retriever in general that really seems to resonate with a lot of people. “Labs are so iconic. Someone can see a Lab portrait and they think the dog looks like a Lab they once knew, whether it’s their childhood black Lab or the black Lab down the street that they see walking every day,” says Werth. “But the owner of that Lab can look at that portrait and say, that is my baby. That little hair right there, that rogue whisker that’s the opposite color. The ear tilts a certain way, or a particular look that they give. It’s cool that it can affect different people in different ways.”
“Anyone can see an animal portrait and smile and get joy from this beautiful animal whether they know the animal or not. They can relate to it,” says Werth. “I sell all day long for other people and very rarely is someone brought to tears with your average piece of art. Ninety percent of the time, when someone receives their pet portrait, there are tears involved. That’s just something I can do for this person.”
That was Pollard’s experience, to be sure: “When she completed them, I cried. She truly captured their personalities and spirits.”
Pollard’s Labs are gone now, and Werth’s paintings of her faithful bunch remain in a place of honor at home. “The paintings hang above our television in the living room where we can see them all the time. When [the dogs] were alive, it was nice to see them there, but since they’ve crossed the Rainbow Bridge, I feel they are with us still. My dogs are family to me, and I know other people feel the same. If you can find an artist like Mindy Sue Werth who can capture their dog’s personality and spirit in a portrait, do it! I want our dogs’ memories to live on forever, and yes, it’s sad at first when they pass, but then it makes me happy to be able to see their faces every day on my wall.”
You can visit Mindy Sue Werth’s website at www.msworiginals.com to see examples of her work, order prints, or to start the conversation for your own commissioned pet portrait. Portraits take generally three to four weeks once the commission is underway, but it can be longer depending on how many commissions are in the pipeline. Christmas is particularly busy, so it’s important to plan early. Mindy provides progress updates throughout the project. Mindy also has an Instagram page @msworiginalart.
