Pet Portraits To Take Centerstage at The Woodlands’ Ardest Gallery For National Dog Day — How You Can Get In On the Feel-Good Fun

Want to add a portrait of Fido to your gallery at home, or create your own masterpiece of your pooch? Ardest Gallery in The Woodlands is sponsoring a special fundraiser on National Dog Day, which is set for Saturday, August 26. There are two paws-itively excellent ways to join in the fun.

Throughout the day, visitors to the gallery will get a glimpse at local artists live painting commissioned pet portraits, can participate in a pet portrait painting class offered by artist Eric Sundin and can learn more about local dog rescue organizations positively impacting The Woodlands community by visiting with their representatives. A percentage of all of Ardest Gallery’s sales on National Dog Day will directly benefit those dog rescue organizations.

“National Dog Day offers artists within our gallery community an opportunity to serve through their art,” Ardest Gallery director Julie Verville says. “Seven gallery artists have generously agreed to donate a portion of commissioned pet portraits back to the referring organization.

“Each of these artists offers a unique pet portrait style, giving pet owners a wide variety of options and price points to choose from.”

Dog portraits will be live between 10 am and 2 pm on August 26 with several artists painting throughout the day. Pricing will range from $75 to $400 for pet commissions depending upon their size and the medium used. Participating pet portrait artists schedule to participate include Robyn Crowell, M L Huff, Lauren Luna, Jeff Lung, Judy Mackey, Teresa Staley and Eric Sundin.

Want to choose your own special colors for your pet portrait? Sign up for a class to paint a pre-sketched portrait of your pet.  This class is hosted by Eric Sundin, and a sign up is available on Eventbrite. After signing up, you’ll send a pet photo to Sundin so he can sketch the pooch prior to the class. The class costs $65 and 25 percent of the proceeds from the workshop will go to local dog rescue groups.

The inspiration for this event was sparked by Verville’s mother Barbara, a longtime resident of The Woodlands and active foster pet volunteer. Not surprisingly, Verville’s newest family member is a foster dog originating from Who Rescued Who.

Lone Star Animal Rescue, Operations Pets Alive and Who Rescued Who will all have booths with information about their organizations on site. National Dog Day is getting an arty twist with plenty of heart behind it.