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The Spark

My aim is to create artwork that makes dog people stop, smile, and say,“That’s exactly my dog.”

If you’re wondering, why Poochini? — well that honour goes to my tiny sausage dog, Monty Bojangles, whose passion for spaghetti is operatic. I wish the story were more sophisticated, but here we are, I just had to start sketching him to capture the drama.

Carla Tracy, UK dog portrait artist of Poochini Portraits, sitting on a patterned sofa with a small white dog

Hey, I'm Carla

a UK artist and designer — and a lifelong dog botherer who paints our pooches’ finest behaviours: the side-eye, the head-tilt, the slow blink, the sad slink, the zoomies, the freeze-and-sniff… the full performance. Dogs are experts at infiltrating every corner of our lives and hearts, right up until you’re balanced on an inch of mattress, or handing over the last bite of your dinner. And of course, we let them — because resistance is pointless… and we secretly love it.

Close-up of paintbrushes in a jar in UK artist Carla Tracy’s studio workspace
Dog portrait drawing in progress, hand drawn whippet sketch by dog portrait artist Carla Tracy

Story

Background

With her eclectic background in fine art and career in design, Carla studied at Loughborough School of Art and Design before completing a BA in Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University. As a graphic designer, she has worked on a wide range of exciting projects with iconic clients including Snapchat, Adidas, Puma, Harvey Nichols, and BAFTA — and even a few well-known celebrity faces along the way.

Close-up of Carla Tracy sketching a whippet dog portrait with charcoal on paper in her studio
Poochini_Portraits_by_Carla_Tracy_Winter_Reverie_6.jpg

When you see your pet’s personality — the mischief, the grace, the weirdness — hung on your wall, it does something special. It makes your home feel warmer, more personal, more yours.

Commissions

Originals

Prints

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