I hope it’s obvious that I’m a dog AND design lover. My favorite thing is when two of my passions align and to kick off the week, I’m sharing why every art collector or dog lover should embrace a gorgeous gallery wall. In this month’s ‘Best of Etsy‘, you can find 25 running vintage dog portraits and tons of inspiration for ways to install them in your home. Click through for my finds…
Ever since getting our new puppy, I’ve been getting a common question… “will the new pup get his own dog portrait?!” The answer is OF COURSE! You might remember these from our laundry room reveal? I painted portraits of each of our dogs, and eventually I’ll do the same for cute little Crosby, but I want to wait until he’s an adult before giving him a “personality” portrait.
As much as I’d like to take credit for dog gallery walls and art installations in residential interior settings, they’ve been around since the beginning of time (or domesticated pets). In terms of art history, they’re actually very classic and tasteful, which is why I love a good vintage dog portrait and plan to grow my gallery wall.
Shop my favorite finds from Etsy below by clicking directly on each piece!
Don’t be afraid to mix and match styles, mediums, or even frames! I love the look in the hallway shown below. It’s eclectic, a conversation starter, and such a gorgeous look because the consistent thread is the dog theme.
In our Ohio home, I created this cute little dog nook for Finn’s eating area. Sometimes it’s takes thinking outside the box in terms of gallery walls… I love that I lowered the art to a dog’s eye level. It’s a quirky way to showcase pet portraits.
Below, you’ll find another great hallway installation! Ken Fulk can do no wrong and this is the image that inspired me to paint my pet portraits in the first place. Isn’t it gorgeous?!
Remember Jacqueline’s dressing room I revealed back in 2016? It also boasts a dog gallery wall, but of the photographic variety! We found vintage dog portraits mixed with fashion photography. It’s pretty perfect for her closet.
Are you guys also fans of pet artwork? I think organic and eclectic gallery walls are making a big comeback. We’ve been seeing so many grid installations lately, I think as they continue to gain popularity and potentially seem overdone, we’ll notice more random galleries resurface once again. They’re very timeless. What are your thoughts? Favorite works from the Etsy roundup? I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below!
additional non Room for Tuesday images : ken fulk
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Peggi
October 15, 2018 at 5:01 amThis poses a dilemma for me. I feel weirdly disloyal to have portraits of other dogs on my wall, and there are definitely no vintage paintings of labradoodles! I’m certain my dog, Joe, is ready for his “personality portrait”; maybe I should look into that…I do love the fashion/dog photos you used for Jacqueline’s dressing room! And I really enjoy both types of galleries-the more art, the better!
Sarah
October 15, 2018 at 11:12 amHA! I suppose you could hire someone to do a portrait and mix it into the gallery. And here I want to add “random” vintage portraits to my dog gallery. What kind of doodle is Joe? I think you might’ve mentioned it, but I forgot.
Peggi
October 16, 2018 at 5:15 amHe is an F1b Labradoodle, so 1 quarter chocolate Lab and 3 quarter poodle. He is a kind of rare silver. (Eek, don’t get me started on Joe.)
Sarah
October 16, 2018 at 10:43 amHe sounds so handsome! I’m just now learning about all of the “doodle” things, so this intrigues me.
Michelle
October 15, 2018 at 7:57 amI love this! I was hoping you were going to round up some of your favorite Etsy resources for us to submit and have a portrait of our own dogs redone. I certainly do not have the talent to ones of my guys like you have, but I love the idea of having portraits of my own dogs to hang. I do have a vintage portrait of hunting dogs by the back door and feel since I own a coonhound it has relevance. :-)
Sarah
October 15, 2018 at 11:13 amAhhh, good idea! I prefer the vintage works to most of the portrait recreations on Etsy… I find there’s a lot of bad, but maybe that’s an even better reason for a roundup? Your vintage hunting dog portrait sounds amazing! xox
Emily
October 20, 2018 at 10:26 amI second the request for a roundup of artists that do custom dog portraits! I love the look of the vintage portraits as well, but I think it’d be such a special thing to have a custom piece featuring your own doggo.
Sarah
October 21, 2018 at 9:51 amAlright, I’ll make that happen!! I can’t believe I didn’t think to do that. Haha! xo
Christina
October 15, 2018 at 6:00 pmThe best Christmas gift I have ever given was to commission an artist on Etsy to paint a pet portrait for some family members.I wrapped a pretty matted frame and a card with the info in the box so that they can email the photo of their choosing to the artist.It has been a huge hit and surprisingly inexpensive.
Sarah
October 16, 2018 at 10:41 amThat really is the best gift! I’ve given a couple of those and they’re always a lovely sentimental surprise that someone can cherish forever! xox
Susie | Chelsea Project
April 1, 2020 at 12:17 pmI just love these so much! In fact, as I’m looking for various vintage images for a gallery wall, not one compares to the paintings of your precious pups. I’d love to have print copies of these in about 5 by 7………so darling. Please let me know if you should decide to sell any.
Sarah
April 2, 2020 at 12:51 pmAw thanks, Susie! Check out my friend Andrea… she started doing pet portraits similar to mine: https://www.instagram.com/vintagepaintbrush/