Stephen Gallagher: TIMELESS MEMORIES

In the digital age we live in, we have plenty of photos of our loved ones living on our computers, phones, and social media profiles. We want to capture memories, showcase our life events, and honor our friends and family in a beautiful way. However, with access to constant, quick snapshots, the concept of custom portraiture has faded into the background for most of us.

That’s not the case for artist Stephen Gallagher, who specializes in creating oil portraits dedicated to your pets. We all want to remember our journey with our four-legged friends, and while photos are great, there is something timeless about a fine art portrait of our pet.

We spoke to Stephen about his work and why he thinks everyone should have custom paintings done for their pets.

Were you always interested in painting and art?

Stephen Gallagher: From as far back as I can remember, I’ve always drawn. I fell in love with getting lost in the process of art making. Whatever was bothering me would disappear once I got into the flow of painting. I guess I have always loved the meditative process of painting as well as watching others get pleasure from the finished result. It also helped that I had encouraging parents and teachers around me!

You started your business after painting your ailing dog, Ozzie. Why did you decide painting his portrait was a good way to remember him?

SG: I was taking lessons in oil painting at the time and thought it would be a perfect way to apply what I learned and make something worth remembering him by. I loved the result and was pleasantly surprised that other people loved it as well. Requests then started to come in to paint other people’s dogs.