Still Life With Shih Tzu

Dog owners are often made sport of for treating their four-legged companions like children. Wait until the cynics get a load of this.

Thanks to a Santa Monica artist named Beau Bradford, pooches are being immortalized in famous works of art. With equal ease, Bradford can paint your poodle into a Picasso or your Rottweiler into a Rockwell.

Since 1990, Bradford, who studied at the New York School of Visual Arts, has created more than 50 pet portraits. A favorite choice of clients has been Andy Warhol-inspired photo squares of the canine in question appearing in multiple colors.

From start to finish, it takes about six weeks to put Fido within a field of Van Gogh’s Irises or any other work chosen by the pet owner.

Once a painting is chosen, Bradford tries to capture the personality of the dog in an elaborate photo shoot--face it, no dog unless it’s comatose is going to sit for a six-week session.

Apparently, there are advantages to working with pets. As Bradford once said, [Animals] don’t ever complain about how their portrait comes out.”