Ben Lenovitz is a NYC-based painter that specializes in cheeky portraits of man’s best friend. When he’s not traveling the world painting, he can be found painting portraits for walk-in customers out of the Fishs Eddy gallery throughout the week. Fishs Eddy is an eclectic home goods store nestled in Union Square, New York’s go-to spot for quirky dining wear.
A longtime artist, Lenovitz found his niche painting pet portraits in Osaka, Japan. “I was asked to do an event in Osaka, Japan where my blocks would be on sale, and where I would paint portraits of anything that people wanted. A ton of people started asking me to paint portraits of their pets and I loved it,” he explained.
Using animals as the muse for his art allows a greater expression of creativity. Lenovitz elaborates, “Pets have these crazy personalities and its fun trying to capture that in paint.”
If you’re looking to get a portrait done of your own pet, Lenovitz recommends sending a photo that captures their character, “The weirder the better, and one you can see the eyes in – a lot of their personality is in the eyes!”
Lenovitz’s distinctive style has an equally unique origin, “I really love folk art; my parents always had a lot of it around while I was growing up. I think my style sort of comes out of that world. My painting developed through my drawing – which I largely do in sketchbooks. The portraits themselves are a combination of sketch and paint,” he tells PetInsider.
The best part of his job? The people he meets, “I like chatting with folks about their pets and hearing their connections. Every owner and pet has their own story, which is cool. I also really love doing events at different places – it’s cool to be painting in a new environment and the pace of painting and camaraderie with everyone who attends is always an added adrenaline boost.”
A portrait-painter as renowned as Ben must have some famous clients, but he’s keeping it mum. “They always make me sign a non-disclosure agreement first!” he said when asked for some names.
He’s painted too many pictures to count, but his favorite commission he’s ever worked on is as unique as his style. “I painted a crab once. That was cool! But, to be honest, once he saw the painting, he was a bit crabby. Bah-dum-ching!” Lenovitz jokes.
Ben travels the globe painting at pop-up events for companies like Facebook, BarkBox, Boris & Horton and more. If you’re in the NYC area, you can catch Ben painting in action, look for him in the Fishs Eddy gallery most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4-9PM, and Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4PM. Online you can browse Ben’s collection of original mugs and dish towels to take home, or shop his webstore for prints, custom frames, and his signature Art On Block here.
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