Sit Pretty Pet Portraits - About the Artist

I am Canadian and I live with my handsome husband and 4 year-old son in beautiful Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. 

I grew up in Nova Scotia and Ontario with my little brother and mother who was an artist. My Mom didn't (and still doesn't) believe in TV and as a result I spent an immense amount of time drawing and painting as a child. I've never taken proper art lessons but the sheer number of hours spent filling pages with colour using large block wax crayons (if you went to a Waldorf or Montessori school you will know what I mean) should not be discounted.

I never dreamed of becoming an artist but I always managed to find time to paint or draw pictures for my friends and family. I moved out west after high school and completed a degree in Anthropology at university.

After meeting my husband at a golf course I made the crazy decision to move across the world after only 6 months. Once in Adelaide, I  worked as a researcher for many years in the educational statistics and public policy sector before starting Sit Pretty Pet Portraits. I currently work as a Data Scientist for Griffith University and have quite the virbant nerdy side. 

Now, I bet you are wondering, how the heck did I go from wax crayon wielding child to data scientist/person who paints peoples’ cats and dogs? The answer to that is....GOOD QUESTION!

Artist painting

I painted my first pet portrait while pregnant with our son and posted a photo of the end result on social media. I was overwhelmed with the feedback and was pleasantly surprised to receive a number of requests from people (see the photo above of my first portrait featuring our beloved and naughty Italian Greyhound Tony).

When we made the decision to move to move from the cold to the Sunshine Coast in January 2018,  I decided it was time to focus my energy on my pet portraits and created Sit Pretty Pet Portraits...and now 4.5 months later I have a website (yay)!

As of today, I am proud to say my little niche business is doing really well and it is all thanks to you. Everyday, I take a moment to acknowledge how lucky I am. I am so thankful to have supportive family, friends and clients around me who allow and encourage me to follow my creative (and it’s okay you can say it, weird) passion of creating custom pet portraits for pet lovers around the world.

THANK YOU!

 

xx

Rhetta

Chief Pet Portrait Artist