Towson Artist Makes Mark with Pet Portraits

Towson resident Veronica Mui’s first commissioned pet portrait came after a woman saw her work displayed in a Catonsville grooming shop.

The woman’s Maltese had cancer and she wanted a portrait done of the dog before it died.

"So I had him over in my apartment, and we took some pictures of him, and he was just so spry for being in his condition. He was so adorable," Mui said. "She loved [the painting]. I did a head portrait of him, and he passed right before the portrait was finished."

Since then Mui, who also works as a dog groomer, has watched Pet Portraits by Veronica Mui expand. She said she now works on about two to four portraits a month, and each painting will take between two and four months to finish.

Her base portrait starts at 5 inches by 5 inches in size and sells for $200. The cost increases with the number of pets included in the portrait as well as the size of the painting. Mui said her most expensive commission so far was an 8-inch by 10-inch portrait and she charged about $350.

Mui, who took art classes as a teenager at the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore, said that so far she hasn’t received many requests to paint more exotic pets.

"Somebody asked me to paint their gecko, but that hasn’t come together yet," she said. 

Mui hopes to make painting a career, and eventually expand into doing portraits of children as well as pets.

"I definitely want to do this forever. There’s a gallery in New York that does exclusively dog art that’s where I’d love to be eventually," Mui said "I would love to be able to quit my job and just do this period."

Check out more of Mui’s work at www.veronicamuiportraits.com or on Facebook.