Vancouver Island-based artist Zann Hemphill’s collaborative approach to pet portraits was born out of an unusual business model, where anti-efficiency was the goal. Unlike commercial portrait shops that work fast to replicate a photo, Zann dives deeper into the connection between pets and owners and invites pet parents to participate in the artistic process by sharing early design process work inviting active feedback.

This practice was born out of Zann’s rebellion against low-contact, scalable, streamlined business that doesn’t seem to leave room for people to be people. Frustrated with how automated communication has become, Zann started pushing in the opposite direction. Instead of looking for ways to leverage canned responses, she took the time to read every message and try to understand the person on the other side. Despite all advice to the contrary, taking a ‘no dumb questions’ approach been a huge success! Making time for real person-to-person connection has inspired great art.

Zann has created a free learning series on YouTube for other aspiring artists and owners to learn how to paint their pets. A graduate of Emily Carr University, Zann brings a strong visual design education to bear in transforming clients’ favorite moments with their pets into unique custom artwork that fits their homes and styles. 

www.pawsbyzann.com

Art, Pets, Dog, Cat, artist, portraits, design, business, leverage, person-to-person connection, paintings, pet portraits

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