Our Portrait Pawtners

Alongside the chance to see their designs on products, each winner and runner up will receive a personalised piece of art from a pet portrait artist.

Each artist brings a unique style, from hand-drawn mini-portraits, to digital cartoons. Your child may be a budding artist, and our hope is that they get inspired throughout the campaign by these fantastic artists. Some of them have only just started up, while others are well established and loved within the industry.

Zoe Fitchet

Zoe Fitchet is a wildlife conservation artist from the south of England, but as a dog lover, she has spent many years working on pet portraits alongside her conservation work. Dogs are such an important part of so many of our lives and it’s always a pleasure to capture the character and expressions of each pup! Zoe is passionate about animal welfare and conservation efforts and always donates a portion of her proceeds to animal charities and projects.

“Really excited to get involved in this project as it is always a joy to see children expressing their creativity! Growing up, I knew I wanted to be an artist and I was lucky enough to have heaps of encouragement; so I am always looking for ways to pay it forward and encourage others in their artistic endeavours!

Artwork can be created in so many ways, so there is never a wrong way to do it, and what better subject to focus on than our lovely furry friends! With all the gorgeous expressions, characters and textures dogs have, you can have so much fun creating pet portraits!”

Hollie McManus

Hollie Mcmanus is an illustrator and designer. She started her business 11 years ago and since then, Hollie has created designs for a variety of products and places!

“Animals are a massive part of my life, especially horses and dogs. I have always drawn inspiration for new illustrations from nature and animals, and recently I was inspired by my own cheeky dog Frankie, to start drawing dogs and other pets. I really enjoy capturing an animal’s personality, as well as their unique features within a pet portrait. I use my unique illustrative style to add lots of detail, colour and texture into each portrait.

I am getting involved in this amazing campaign as I think art is a brilliant way to help children express themselves. Equally, dogs can be such a wonderful support to children, whether that’s by helping them emotionally, physically or by just being a friend. I think combining art and dogs within this campaign is so special and I’m excited to see what the children’s imaginations can create!”

Woof By Hollie

Woof by Hollie is where you can find super cute dog gifts for humans. All Woof by Hollie products are drawn and designed by me (Hollie!) and created with quality and sustainability in mind. Products from Woof by Hollie are super giftable, designed to make people smile, and we’re working towards a match for every pup! Plus, we offer custom pet portrait commissions which can be printed as stickers, keyrings, prints and more.

I was such a creative child and I’m so grateful for everyone who encouraged me to follow my creativity and try new things, or I wouldn’t be where I am today! To this day, drawing is my favourite hobby and always makes me feel better when I’m having a tough day. That and going out for a walk with my dog, Lyra! I’m really excited to see the competition entries.

Pawtraits By Ell

Hi, I’m Ellie and I’m a 19 year old Illustration Student in Swansea. I do pet portraits in my spare time and have fallen in love with drawing all of your furry friends! I love being able to capture your pets personalities in unique ways in a portrait you can treasure forever.

I have always loved art since I can remember picking up a pencil, just having a creative outlet and to keep being creative is something I want to share with children as I’m so glad I carried on drawing!

Emma Keys Portraits

My name is Emma I’ve been a hobby artist since I was at school but in recent years have found real joy in creating commision art work for other people to enjoy professionally. There is nothing better than handing a personalised art work to someone and seeing how thrilled they are with it.

I have always loved art from a young age and believe that encouraging young people to be creative is important. The roles that dogs play as part of a family member is vast and often underestimated, my daughter absolutely loves our English bulldog and the joy on her face when he plays with her fills my heart. I am delighted to be able to take part in the competition!

Lorren Francis

I was always drawing as a child, art was my way to calm and self-soothe. So I’m so thrilled to be involved with Bark To The Future. Art encourages children to express themselves and create something they love. It can also be an essential way for some children to communicate their thoughts and feelings that may not be able to in another way.

I still love creating art even today at almost 30, especially drawing our furry friends. Growing up I entered several art competitions and even if I didn’t win, the process was very rewarding. Even recently I entered a local competition. Each one helps you to stretch your limits and immerse yourself into a different world.

Dingo Designs

Beth Lennon

Dingo Designs was developed out of doing a cartoon portrait of my own beautiful pup, Willow. A few people on Instagram were interested, and it developed into a shop with high quality pet portraits and custom apparel. I never thought anything like this would be possible as I’ve never deemed myself to be particularly arty, but if you persist I’m doing what you love, things can just fall into place.

The bond you can have with an animal is beyond anything that can be matched elsewhere. Even though you don’t speak the same language, you truly understand one another in the deepest of ways. They provide daily therapy for us through the unconditional love they emanate, teaching us patience and true joy along the way. They are there for us when no one else can be. If our prize can contribute to a cause that aims to provide even a snippet of that to the children of this world, we’re happy.