Jackson Brown featured at cat museum
My portrait of "Jackson Brown" is now on permanent display at the Cat Fanciers’ Association Foundation cat museum which opened June 2011 in Alliance, Ohio. The Cat Fanciers’ Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1906. The first cat shows licensed by CFA were held during 1906. Over the years, CFA has registered over a million pedigreed cats. The association has over 600 member clubs and annually licenses approximately 400 cat shows worldwide. The Cat Fanciers’ Association Foundation was established in 1990 by the Cat Fanciers’ Association, Inc. Board of Directors as a forum to educate the general public about the existence and history of the cat. For more information see www.felinehistoricalfoundation.org
Bunny portrait at House Rabbit Society headquarters, Calif.
As of April 2013 my framed portrait of Bosley bunny is displayed in the House Rabbit Society Rabbit Center in Richmond, Calif. His portrait is displayed in a hallway where people enter a rabbit adoption area. When people enter the House Rabbit Society, they are in the Hop Shop. If they step into the hallway from the Hop Shop to visit adoptable bunnies, they will see Bosley’s portrait displayed on a wall above a “new arrivals” exercise pen. According to Anne Martin, PhD., Shelter Director at the House Rabbit Society, the “new arrivals” pen is a popular stop for visitors.
This drawing of Bosley was one of my first pet portraits. I drew it from a photo I had taken of Bosley years prior while he was wearing a Santa hat I had crocheted for him.
Bosley was my first and only pet rabbit. I wanted to find a permanent home for his portrait, preferably in a rabbit adoption facility. I had heard of a House Rabbit Society adoption organization in the Chicago area. Researching about them online, I found their headquarters in California and contacted them. They were happy to accept my drawing for permanent display.
The HRS was founded in 1988 and rabbits are rescued through foster homes across the United States.
As of April 2013, HRS had over 8,000 members, with local chapters and educators in over 30 states plus Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Their website, www.rabbit.org, is accessed over 100,000 times a day by people in dozens of countries around the world.
This drawing of Bosley was one of my first pet portraits. I drew it from a photo I had taken of Bosley years prior while he was wearing a Santa hat I had crocheted for him.
Bosley was my first and only pet rabbit. I wanted to find a permanent home for his portrait, preferably in a rabbit adoption facility. I had heard of a House Rabbit Society adoption organization in the Chicago area. Researching about them online, I found their headquarters in California and contacted them. They were happy to accept my drawing for permanent display.
The HRS was founded in 1988 and rabbits are rescued through foster homes across the United States.
As of April 2013, HRS had over 8,000 members, with local chapters and educators in over 30 states plus Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Their website, www.rabbit.org, is accessed over 100,000 times a day by people in dozens of countries around the world.
Companion Animal Memorial Fund cards, University of Illinois
Four images of my graphite drawings are now (as of 2018) featured on the cover of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine (Urbana, Il.) Companion Animal Memorial Fund card. People (mostly vet clinics) donate money to the CAMF in memory or honor of a loved one’s pet. The UofI then sends a card to the pet owner. Cards are 7 ¼ inches square and approximately 5,000 are mailed out each year to families expressing sympathy from vet clinics and personal donors to the CAMF.
See more information about the CAMF by clicking on this link: CAMF
See more information about the CAMF by clicking on this link: CAMF
my art
As of January 2010, Tracy Ahrens had created close to 50 pet portraits. Her illustrations have been showcased on note cards for the Kankakee County Animal Foundation in Kankakee, Ill. She has also donated portraits for fund-raising events at Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago, the University of Illinois Wildlife Veterinary Clinic in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.; Critter Corral guinea pig rescue in Steger, Ill. and Crossroads Shih Tzu rescue based in Joliet, Ill. In the past she offered pet portraits through the University of Illinois Small Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital to help raise funds for their Humane Connection Fund. Several of her pet portraits are currently on display in the Small Animal Clinic at the UofI.
statement
My art is a carbon copy, parchment view, Silly Putty lift of an image.
My eyes extract distance, shades, lines – cellular layers that fleeting eyes pass.
To draw is to touch a subject – literally feel it. It is a time for me to form a personal bond with the subject over several hours or days, as I bring the subject to life.
My eyes extract distance, shades, lines – cellular layers that fleeting eyes pass.
To draw is to touch a subject – literally feel it. It is a time for me to form a personal bond with the subject over several hours or days, as I bring the subject to life.
comments by viewers
"Your work is very well rendered" – greeting card company
"We are quite impressed by your artistry" – publishing company
"quite beautiful" – publishing company
"With deepest gratitude for immortalizing my precious baby Louie with your
God-given talent. You have indeed captured his spirit, and as I gaze into his eyes,
I can feel the loving warmth of him looking back at me." - Billie K., pet parent
"your graphite work is exquisite" - fine art and licensing company
"We want to thank you for the life-like portrait of Jackson. It is where we see it daily and this doesn’t make me sad! It’s like he’s still here and this makes me smile." - Peggy B., pet parent