Portraits with Purpose
Let’s celebrate shelter animals.
Let’s get them seen. Let’s make it fun.
I’m working on a project to help Napa shelter dogs. As a creative director and designer, I think visually—through story, energy, and personality. Every dog has a vibe. Through color, texture, and different painting styles, that energy can be felt before a single word is read. I’m using art and AI tools to help tell these dogs’ stories in a way that feels joyful, vibrant, and full of life.
Shelter dogs don’t need to be presented as sad or depressing. They are hopeful, expressive, and ready to be seen—and art allows us to meet them that way.
It started simply—experimenting with digital tools to create a calendar of my dog, Reba, as a Christmas gift. Then I created a digital portrait of a favorite shelter dog, Azula. It was fun, playful, and surprisingly moving. Soon after, I made another piece for Rayo, a husky with a completely different energy.
Different dog. Different vibe. Each one deserving of a moment in the spotlight.
Let's change the way that we see shelter animals.
Let’s give shelter animals more visibility and love
This project exists as a living body of work—custom digital pet portraits and early explorations across calendars, prints, and thoughtfully made products. By commissioning a custom pet portrait, supporters directly help fund the creation of artwork for shelter animals, increasing their visibility and celebrating their stories through art. Too often, once an animal is adopted, their story disappears. But adoption is not an ending—it’s a milestone. A portrait becomes a marker of that moment, celebrating the animal’s journey, the people who cared for them, and the new chapter that begins.
The goal is to use these portraits to help animals find homes—by showcasing them on social media, gifting adopters a printed portrait at the time of adoption, and honoring shelter staff or volunteers with portraits of the animals they’ve formed meaningful bonds with.
If you’re interested in collaborating—through custom products, storytelling, promotion, or another creative partnership—I’d love to explore what we could build together.
