Welcome to Dr. Z’s Pet Portraits!

I grew up in Albuquerque, NM in a house full of murals painted by my very inspirational and artistic mother. My bedroom walls were covered with giant elephants, castles, flowers and fairies. The neighborhood kids would come over for my mom’s art lessons, and we would spread out on the floor in our living room with our pastels and paints. Surrounded by art every day, I developed a deep respect and love for it.

I also love animals, and knew I wanted to be a vet early in life. I used to ride and show horses, and have always had a cat (or 3 or 4). I graduated from Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004, and have stayed in the Pacific Northwest ever since. I currently live in Sumner, Washington, with my husband, 2 daughters, cats and chickens. I am lucky to be a part of the amazing team at Sumner Veterinary Hospital, where I am known as “Dr. Z.” SVH is also on Facebook, check out our page!

When I was young, I delighted in painting horses, creating realistic effects as I expanded on color chalk pastel techniques, all the time by simply painting what I saw- as my mom used to teach. Eventually I started painting family and friends’ cats and dogs. My mother in law Alice Healy is also a wonderfully talented watercolor artist (visit her website here), and she encouraged me to try watercolors. I also took a watercolor painting class at Pierce County Community College to learn more about the medium, and this led eventually to me experimenting on my own with acrylic paints. Acrylic on canvas has been my main focus the past few years- I love working the layers of color. Canvases are also practical in that they don’t necessarily have to be framed, but can be hung straight on the wall as they are. Over time and mostly through word of mouth, all of this has led to commissions lining up as I found my niche creating pet portraits.

Please enjoy my galleries and check out my site, and contact me if you would like to commission a painting of one (or more!) of your companion animals. I look forward to hearing from you! ~ Dr. Z