Painting cats and dogs MBHS student creates watercolor pet portraits
Where others might see a plain white dog, Emily Bolvig sees streaks of yellow, orange, gray, brown, purple and blue.
Using shadows, lines, color and light, Bolvig captures each pet’s personality in her paintings. She occasionally splashes color onto the backgrounds of the canvas to accentuate characteristics of a pet’s personality.
Even Bolvig’s glossy business cards show off her natural eye for design and color. On the front, a picture of one of her watercolor pet portraits accompanies her contact information. She fills the back of each card with a humorous, eye-catching close-up of a dog or cat’s nose.
Like many kids, Bolvig grew up loving to draw animals. Unlike the majority, however, Bolvig turned her hobby into a business.
A 10th-grader at Mountain Brook High School, Bolvig was introduced to watercolors when she took a class at Alabama Art Supply in downtown Birmingham in the summer of 2013. There, she learned the art of watercolor from retired art teachers and artists.
When her neighbor saw some of her artwork later that summer, she asked Bolvig if she would paint a picture of her dog. The neighbor liked the final product so much that she paid Bolvig for it, inspiring Bolvig to start a business about a month afterward.
“It kind of just took off,” said Bolvig. “It mainly started out as just family and friends.”
Since then, Bolvig has completed approximately 30 portraits of dogs, cats and even a parrot. Each takes her one or two weeks from start to finish.
Because she sometimes works with uncooperative clients, Bolvig paints all of her portraits from photographs, which she often takes herself.
One of the most challenging dogs for Bolvig to paint is her very own rescued black Lab mix, Jack.
“My godmother actually found him. He was on the side of the road and he had a broken leg,” she said. “They thought he might have gotten hit by a car.”
Bolvig had always wanted a dog, so Jack became a surprise birthday present for her almost three years ago.
This summer, Bolvig has also been using her keen eye for style and design with internships at Robins & Morton construction, in the marketing branch, and at Lawler Ballard Van Durand advertising.
When she’s not painting, working or spending time with Jack, Bolvig enjoys swim team and track. She will be on Mountain Brook’s varsity track team next year for javelin and discus.
In addition to creating art, Bolvig said she is also interested in biology and writing and does not know what she wants to do in the future.
Portrait Details
Small (9x12-inch) portraits: $20
Medium (11x14-inch) portraits: $40
Large (16x24-inch) portraits: $60
Bolvig can paint up to two pets on medium portraits and up to
three pets on large portraits.
Contact: emilybpetportraits@gmail.com or 370-4594
Art samples: