Pets of OMP: Claudia T’Kindt – The Pet Portrait Artist

Editor’s Note: If you have a pet or animal story you’d love to see featured in Old Mission Gazette, contact our Pets of OMP columnist Paula Kelley, [email protected], or me, [email protected], and I will pass your info along to Paula. Read on for her note about a warm summer evening in Old Mission when an unexpected encounter with a hawk led to a sacred experience. -jb

Hello, Old Mission!

I recently met with Claudia T’Kindt at Right Bower and had a fascinating conversation with this charming woman who is rapidly becoming well known among friends and neighbors as a dog portrait artist.

In the fall of 2023, Claudia, at the urging of a friend, started taking drawing lessons from Mary Kay Burbee at Tinker Studios. Having never done this before, Claudia was a little hesitant but began to study books and joined some art groups to observe others.

Initially, her first attempts were drawn on blank newspaper, as this type of paper is much less expensive than the common type of drawing paper. Soft pastels became her preferred medium, and she educated me on the process she goes through to create a pet portrait.

I learned that the first part of a picture is actually a thinking process of where the dog is to be placed. Is the dog going to be around the house, out in the fields, or in his bed? Having had those thoughts, Claudia also had to learn how to draw other things besides dogs.

The next stage in the process is to complete a rough outline of the dog’s body, followed by a detailed drawing of the animal’s eyes. As Claudia says, “If I can’t get the eyes and soul of a dog, nothing else will matter.”

Soon, Claudia had completed her first drawing of a dog named Champ. Champ, who had passed away, had been the dear companion of a friend who was thrilled to get the final drawing. These pictures show Champ in progress.

A dog named Kella, owned by the Morgan family on the peninsula, is also shown in progress, as well as Kella’s final picture.

Two hours flew by while I was chatting with Claudia. She has given me permission to say that she didn’t start developing the artistic side of her brain until she was in her 80’s! Since I can’t draw a straight line without a ruler, I find this astonishing.

As the saying goes, “It’s never too late to learn new tricks!”

(Claudia is accepting requests for pet portraits, and paints all kinds of pets. Email her at [email protected]. – jb)

– Paula Kelley, OMG Pets Columnist

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