About Me

Hello, thank you for visiting this page. My name is Monica Montoya. I am a professional portrait artist, living near Barcelona, in Spain. After a long career doing commissioned portraits, I am proud to know that many people from all corners of the world, have my works in their private collections.

My style and creativity I honed by studying in an Barcelona Academy of Art and numerous master classes following the tradition of masters like Velazquez, Van Dick and Sargent.

I create portraits from your favorite photos of your pets. My work is traditionally hand-painted in oils or pastels, and it is painted for clients worldwide. It will be executed using an Old Master technique, revealing a pet that is ennobled, distinctive, and rich with spirit.

Another of my great passions is animals and they have been one of my sources of inspiration. As a child I spent a lot of time alone and being an only child I had no siblings to play with. When I had my first puppy, my life became more joyful and fun. Since then I have always felt a strong connection with animals and I enjoy painting them.

Sharing my life with a beautiful dog called Pavlova, She is the perfect companion and the best artist’s muse I ever could have wished for. Little did I know how much she would influence my life. She changed my life and thanks to her I got into the world of those who are passionate about their pets and thanks to her, I turned to drawing pets. So it’s important to me that each portrait is as special and unique as the relationship between your companion animal and you.

To create perfect portraits with great precision and skill just isn’t enough, they must have that heart and soul. My aim is to capture that unique spirit behind those eyes, the aura and essence no other pet in the world has. I bring out the true character in every portrait, in a way that photographs simply cannot. When I paint I am very interested in the gaze. I think that by emphasising this part, it conveys more and awakens emotions in the viewer’s soul. According to many traditions, the eyes represent “the mirror of the soul”.

Today, I have been entrusted by people from all over the world to create portraits and paintings that carry meaning and lasting emphasis on important life moments to treasure forever. I have had an experience of drawing pets that are still with us and pets that have sadly crossed the rainbow bridge. I’m unbelievably grateful is an absolute honour and I do this with the hope of bringing happiness and helps heal the hearts of those who have lost their beloved pet.

Thank you for stopping by my site and sharing an interest in what I do!

Apart from the gallery on this website you can see more samples of my portraits on Facebook and Instagram.