Heartland Art Club’s Lisa Ober to host a three-day pet portraiture workshop, May 22-24.
Renowned portrait artist Lisa Ober is a founding and Signature member of Heartland Art Club.
By Kara Dicker
Premiere portrait artist Lisa Ober lights up when she talks about instructing workshops.
“I love having people come to class thinking there’s no way they can do a finished portrait and then learning that they absolutely can,” she says. “I really enjoy watching people amaze themselves.”
A founding and Signature member of the Heartland Art Club, Lisa is a nationally recognized portraitist and instructor whose workshops are known for their straightforward structure, complemented by the artist’s disarming enthusiasm. “Pets in Pastels — Unleashed” (May 22–24) is a pastel portrait painting workshop devoted to our beloved pets, and Lisa encourages artists at all levels to participate.
“People who have barely picked up a pastel have created the most stunning pieces,” she explains, noting that her structured, step-by-step process is especially helpful in establishing a confident approach. “Experienced artists learn how another artist approaches the structure of a painting and pick up new tips and tricks.”
Lisa Ober prefers pastels for painting pets.
Gaining value from Lisa’s years of experience is not to be underestimated. The artist’s bona fides include a decades-long list of portrait commissions from political figures, famous athletes, and celebrities. As much as she loves painting the human figure, she’s a down-to-earth softie when it comes to four-legged companions.
“I first did what I would call a pet portrait at age seven,” she recalls. “My hope is that by seeing my first effort and comparing it to recent work, artist pet lovers can see that they, too, can improve drastically with the proper tools and instruction—or, to say it another way, learn from my many mistakes. My goal is to save budding and experienced artists years and a lot of money.”
Not only does Lisa enjoy memorializing animals on canvas, but she also credits them with coming to her rescue during a pivotal moment early in her life. After studying graphic design and illustration at Washington University, but without an established art career, Lisa worked as a customer service manager for a home improvement company by day to make ends meet while trying to build her art career by night. The day job made her miserable.
That changed when a client from the company learned of her interest in becoming a professional artist. The client, who had dogs, asked Lisa to create a pet portrait. Using a set of pastels she purchased from Artmart, Lisa worked her magic on a cocker spaniel portrait. “They were thrilled, thankfully,” she says of the client’s response. The client spread the word that Lisa painted pet portraits.
“Immediately, I had a lot of orders for dog portraits. It kind of snowballed from there.”
According to Lisa, the popularity of pet portraiture is boundless. “It’s always been popular, from my perspective,” she says, “and it’s one of the most lucrative and reliable things an artist can do—if they do it well,” citing what she describes as an endless supply of pet lovers.
One of Lisa’s very early pet portraits of a family dog, created at age 7.
In 2018, Lisa accepted an offer from a television production company to paint a portrait of heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne with Rocky, his beloved Pomeranian. Ozzy and his son, Jack, were set to film an episode of their travel documentary series Ozzy and Jack’s World Detour at the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog, located in St. Louis County at the time. Lisa attended the surprise unveiling at the museum, and her meeting with Ozzy led to many additional commissioned portraits of Osbourne’s Pomeranians.
Lisa credits her success in pet portraiture to “endeavoring to actually capture that particular pet.”
“Believe me,” she says emphatically, “pet owners know,” adding that anything less is simply a painting of a type of dog or cat. She explains that a pet’s uniqueness—like that of a human subject—lies in the eyes. “I think it’s the most important feature,” she says.
Lisa works from her own photographs, which she shares with clients before beginning a painting. “I ask my clients to choose an expression they like best. My clients know their pets better than I do. Once I have a reference that a client loves, it’s just a matter of observation.”
When it comes to medium, Lisa prefers pastels for painting pets, citing their immediacy and ability to capture a range of colors and textures. “Just the nature of the medium lends itself to fur,” she says. “And you get instant gratification.”
Lisa says she looks forward to her workshop, in which students will paint from the same reference image to keep everyone on pace for the first two days. “I love seeing the results of the portraits,” she says. “Even though they all look like one particular pet, you can see the originality of each artist come through in application, technique, and even color choices. Here we all are, painting the same German shepherd, cat, or horse, and yet they are all unique. Isn’t that the fun of being an artist?”
“Untitled,” by Lisa Ober.