I was recently scrolling Instagram when I ran into these stunningly gorgeous and totally hilarious pet portraits from Jessica Rodocker. Each one includes a dog seated on an iconic high-design chair set against the backdrop of a bold retro patterned wallpaper. The dogs are typically posed in a very serious yet cheeky manner. There is something so perfectly absurd and lovely about the juxtaposition of all these elements, and it truly captures the art of pet portraits.
Meet the Artist
The artist is Jessica Rodocker. She is the owner of First Neighborhoods Realty, a local real estate firm specializing in the historic neighborhoods of Knoxville. These pet portraits are a side passion for her, but you can see her love for historic architecture represented in the series of classic chair styles and vintage wallpaper design.
She loves animals, has a cat named Violet and a dog named Tabbit. While she has been commissioned by a few fur-parents, she finds most of her subjects from pictures she finds online. As we all know from living with these fantastic creatures, they each have such large and unique personalities. Jessica captures these wonderful quirky traits in each portrait with a twist of an ear or cross of a paw.
An Eye for Design
Jessica has an eye for design, and while she doesn’t have any formal design training, she found a deep appreciation for historic architecture and eclectic design from exploring the nooks and crannies of her grandmother’s Victorian home as a child. She trained her eye and sensibilities combing through shelter magazines like House Beautiful. Some of her favorite designers are Charlotte Moss and Summer Thorton, who are known for layering lush and vibrant patterns with classic and modern pieces, and you can see this influence in her work.
Art by Jessica Rodocker
Jessica filled many sketchbooks with her artwork until she recently went digital. She loves playing with patterns and vibrant colors. I would love to have these patterns in the wallpaper or fabric of my home. Someone get her a licensing deal so we can have gorgeous pet-friendly furniture. We need more of these influences in home design for pets. I firmly believe you can love your dog or cat and the clean lines of mid-century modern furniture or whatever your favorite of flavor home design might be.
We Can Have Nice Things
I was having a conversation last week with some friends about cat trees and climbing walls and how they are associated with the stigma of being a cat lady. Besides all of the anti-feminist inferences of that stereotype, it stems from that outdated idea that to love your cat, you have to have a home filled with beige carpet cat trees and low-resolution pet portraits printed on canvas throw pillows.
Art by Jessica Rodocker
We are smarter about design in 2020. We know about using washable materials and how to take into account product usage. There are cat scratchers that are architectural masterpieces. And as Jessica shows us, pet portraits can be a stunning piece of art.
To all the people out there that live with cats and dogs, we can have nice things!!
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