Animal Portrait Exhibit Faces of the Wild Bold Portraits with Personality - June Gallery Exhibit

June exhibit at the StreetSmARTS Gallery

I’ve always liked painting animals, but somewhere along the way they started becoming less like “animal paintings” and more like portraits of personalities that just happen to have feathers, fur, scales, or a slightly dramatic attitude.

That’s really what this June exhibit turned into.

Faces of the Wild Bold Portraits with Personality is an animal portrait exhibit built around expression, color, and the little moments that make an animal feel like a character instead of just a subject. Some of them look confident. Some look suspicious. A few seem mildly offended that I was staring at them long enough to paint them in the first place.

Honestly, those are usually my favorite ones.

For this animal portrait exhibit, I leaned hard into color. I wanted the paintings to feel alive and energetic without worrying too much about realism. If something needed brighter colors or a completely unexpected background to feel right, that’s where the painting went. At some point I’ve learned it’s better not to argue with the painting too much when it starts deciding what it wants to be.

The fun part about painting animals is that people connect with them almost immediately. Everyone sees something different in the expressions. One person sees attitude while another sees curiosity. Someone usually ends up saying, “This one reminds me of somebody I know,” which honestly can be either flattering or slightly alarming depending on the painting.

I wanted this show to feel welcoming and full of energy. The larger pieces are meant to pull you in, while the smaller works give you little moments to discover as you move through the space. Together, it feels less like a formal portrait gallery and more like a room full of colorful personalities quietly observing everyone back.

As usual, there’s still a little weirdness mixed in. I’ve accepted that this is probably permanent at this point.

I hope people leave the exhibit smiling, lingering a little longer than they expected, and maybe finding one painting that refuses to let go of their attention.

Thanks for reading The 3rd Flamingo—a blog for art lovers, creative wanderers, and anyone who’s ever made a beautiful mess.