Different Styles of Pet Portraits | Colorful Pet Portrait Paintings by Rebecca Wang

I offer many different styles of pet portraits. The style chosen comes down to individual taste, as well as what colors work well for the pet. Please read below for more information about my different styles, and see examples to help you in making a decision about which style you prefer. To get more information about my portraits, please visit my Pet Portraits Commission Information page.

Portrait Style – Colorful Realism

Colorful Pet Portrait - Kozmo the German Shepherd Dog by Rebecca Wang Art
A colorful pet portrait of a German Shepherd Dog named Kozmo in bright psychedelic rainbow colors. Acrylic paints on 9" x 12" stretched canvas, completed April 23, 2020.

Colorful Pet Portrait - Alfred the Black Cat by Rebecca Wang Art
A colorful portrait of a black cat named Alfred. Acrylic painting on 8" x 10" stretched canvas. Completed May 25, 2020.

Colorful Pet Portrait - Jerry the Blue Merle Australian Shepherd Dog
A colorful pet portrait of a blue merle Australian Shepherd Dog named "Jerry". Created with acrylic paints on 12" x 16" stretched canvas. November 2019.

Colorful Pet Portrait - Frodo
A colorful pet portrait of a long haired gray tabby cat named Frodo. Painted with acrylic paints on 14" x 18" stretched canvas. October 1, 2020.

Max the bulldog Colorful Pet Portrait
A colorful pet portrait of a sweet brindle and white English Bulldog named Max, in vibrant rainbow colors on a teal, blue and purple background. Acrylic painting on 12" x 12" stretched canvas, completed November 2021.

Colorful Cat Portrait - Hyler
A colorful portrait of an orange and white bicolor cat named Hyler with bright colors on a dark blue background. Painted with acrylic paints on an 11" x 14" stretched canvas. Completed April 15, 2021.

Rainbow Chihuahua Portrait - Bruce
A colorful pet portrait of a tricolor shorthair Chihuahua dog named Bruce in vibrant rainbow colors. Original acrylic painting on 8" x 10" stretched canvas. June 16, 2021.

Colorful Cat Portrait - Averie - Rebecca Wang Art
A colorful portrait of a long haired gray tabby cat named Averie, in bright rainbow colors on a sunset background. Painted with acrylics on a 8" x 10" stretched canvas, February 12, 2021.

Colorful Chocolate Labrador - Cocoa
A colorful pet portrait of a chocolate Labrador Retriever dog named "Cocoa". Acrylic painting on 18" x 24" stretched canvas. May 13, 2021.

Colorful Pet Portrait - Felix
A colorful pet portrait of a long haired black cat named Felix, in a psychedelic style with rainbow colors. Acrylic painting on 11" x 14" stretched canvas. Completed August 5, 2020.

This is my most popular style. I use the animal’s own colors as a guide and make them colorful. You can still tell what the animal’s original color and markings, were but the colors are more amped up. So black colored fur would be mostly dark blues and purples, tan colored fur is bright orange and yellow, white colored fur is light blues and purples, and so on. Please see the examples above, and visit my Pet Portraits gallery to see more examples. Most of the portraits are in this style.

Portrait Style – Natural Colors

Pet Portrait - Tallulah the Staffordshire Bull Terrier
A pet portrait of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog named Tallulah. Acrylic paints on 11" x 14" stretched canvas; October 9, 2020.

Pet Portrait of a Maine Coon cat named Achilles by Rebecca Wang, https://www.psychedeliczen.com/ — Pet Portrait - Achilles
Pet Portrait of a Maine Coon cat named Achilles. Painted with acrylic paints on 8" x 10" stretched canvas, July 2018.

Cat Portrait - Lenny
A portrait of a gray and white Maine coon mix cat named Lenny. Acrylic painting on 8" x 10" stretched canvas, October 20, 2020.

Finn the Mixed Breed Dog
A pet portrait of a mixed breed gray dog named Finn, with a background of blue, teal, green, and yellow. Acrylic painting on a 5" x 7" stretched canvas. Completed January 19, 2021.

Red Tricolor Australian Shepherd - Ammo
A pet portrait of a red tricolor Australian Shepherd dog named "Ammo", laying on a log. Acrylic painting on 20" x 20" stretched canvas. March 31, 2022.

Cute Gray Kitty Cat Portrait - Louie
A colorful pet portrait of a cute gray shorthaired cat named Louie. Acrylic painting on 9x12 canvas. Competed January 2022. A bit of a departure from my usual style, this was done in mostly natural colors (grays) with a bright blue gradient background. I added some splashes of color to his fur.

Colorful Dog Portrait - Luke
A colorful pet portrait of a tricolor dog named Luke, with a natural color scheme on a bright blue nd green background. Acrylic painting on 12x16 canvas, February 2022.

Goose the Lab Mix
A pet portrait painting of a black lab mixed breed dog named Goose. Painted with acrylics on 12x16 canvas. Completed in March 2022. This portrait is in the natural colors style.

Mickey the Brindle and White Pitbull
A pet portrait of a brindle and white pitbull terrier dog named Mickey. Painted with natural colors on a neutral beige background. Acrylics on 11x14 canvas, May 3, 2022.

Otis the Chocolate Labrador Retriever
A pet portrait painting of a chocolate Labrador retriever dog named Otis, painted in natural colors with an abstract green background. Acrylics on 30" x 40" stretched canvas. April 2022.

Rocky the British Shorthair Cat
A portrait of a grey British Shorthair cat named Rocky sitting in a garden of river rocks and black eyed Susan flowers. Acrylics on 9x12 inch canvas, May 2025.

KJ the Brown Tabby Cat
Pet portrait painting of a brown tabby cat named KJ. His portrait was painted with acrylics on an 8x10 inch canvas, completed July 9, 2025. KJ is missing an arm, which was the result of an injury when he was a kitten. He was discovered on a road with a badly injured leg when he was about 6 weeks old, and the injury was so severe that it needed an amputation. He adjusted very well to being a tripod, and has a very strong personality per his owner!

Itty Bitty the Tortoiseshell Cat
A portrait painting of a tortoiseshell cat named Itty Bitty. Acrylic painting on 8x10 inch canvas, July 2025.

Hasse
Pet portrait of a tabby cat named Hasse. Acrylic painting on 9x12 inch cold press watercolor paper.

German Shepherd
Pet portrait of a German Shepherd mix. Acrylic painting on 9x12 inch cold press watercolor paper.

Using natural colors on a colorful or muted background. For this portrait style, I use your pet’s natural coloration and markings, and match them as closely as possible. There will be little pops of color here and there to add depth, and the background can be as colorful or as plain as you like. This style works best with animals that have a lot of brown in their fur.

Portrait Style – Psychedelic

Colorful Pet Portrait Tallulah — Colorful Pet Portrait - Tallulah
Tallulah. Drawn with pastel pencils on pastelbord, 8″x10″. A colorful pet portrait of Tallulah, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, done in rainbow colors. February 9, 2017.

Colorful Pet Portrait Lenny — Colorful Pet Portrait - Lenny
Lenny. Pastel pencils on pastelbord. A colorful pet portrait of a very special long haired Maine Coon mix cat. February 24, 2017.

This style takes your animal and makes their colors wild and vibrant, with no regard for their actual color or markings. It will still look like your dog or cat, but the colors are psychedelic rainbow and are trippy. The overall style is still realistic, but the colors are wild and vibrant. I have not done many of these as commissioned pet portraits, but you can see more examples of my psychedelic artwork in my Portfolio.

Background Styles

The backgrounds in my portraits are usually abstract and very colorful. A typical background is chosen to contrast with the subject. I usually choose a dark background to contrast with a light colored subject (example: white dog) and a light colored background to contrast with a dark colored subject. Most clients will have me choose a background, and I choose the colors and style based on the dog’s colors and personality. Below are examples of common backgrounds that I use for my portraits, to give you an idea what to expect. You are welcome to choose one you like, or leave it up to me.