Drawing portraits, one pet at a time

John LaFree was always told he couldn’t make a living as an artist.

But he created a career with his artistic talents, as the proprietor of Canine Caricature Pet Portraits.

Freelance and self-employed, LaFree operates his easel out of the comfy confines of his Wesley Chapel home.

The pieces he produces are anything but ordinary.
LaFree, 42, puts a “fun and whimsical spin” on the traditional pet portrait, creating an original hand-drawn work of art based on a combination of submitted photos, descriptions and requests.

His custom illustrations — drawn on 12-inch by 16-inch paper using markers and Prismacolor art stix — serve as a unique interpretation of pets, incorporating the owner’s lifestyle to form “a very personal and collaborative project.”
“Oftentimes when people are giving me their descriptions, they’re talking about what they imagine their dog is thinking about,” said LaFree. “I can manipulate it and go in any direction, whether it’s something the dog enjoys doing, the dog enjoys playing with, or maybe it’s something you enjoy doing.”

The artsy influences are bred from his youth, when he doodled and pored over MAD Magazine and Gary Larson’s The Far Side.

Though dogs are the primary focus, Lafree’s portraits have expanded to include cats, horses, hamsters, ferrets, rabbits, snakes and turtles.

“It literally can be any animal,” he said. “I market myself as Canine Caricatures, but it’s easily feline, equine, bovine.”

The creative venture began in 2010, following stints as a caricature artist at Busch Gardens and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, in Ohio.

Before that, LaFree was a stage actor, with a few appearances in small films and television.

Besides Florida and Ohio, his career led him to California, Colorado and New Mexico.

The shift from actor to artist happened “almost overnight.”

“I think the whole time I was trying to be an actor, I was ready to not be an actor anymore,” LaFree explained. “I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I enjoyed the process and the rehearsals and the applause of each show.”

Conversely, artwork “is all process” to LaFree.

“It’s more pleasing for my eye,” he said, “and it’s a lot more fulfilling for me to be working on my visual stuff and try to convey a story with a few marker strokes.”

Since Canine Caricatures launched, LaFree established an extensive client network, commissioning artwork for various animal shelters and pet rescues, along with pet store chains.
“Artistically, it was very fulfilling,” he said. “It was new for me. It was a challenge. It was hard. And, nobody I knew was doing anything like that,” he said.

Most of his business today is via online orders.

Beyond the United States, he’s received orders from countries like Australia and Sweden.

Each piece — barring any distractions — takes about one to two hours to complete, LaFree said.

He works on about five projects per day, hoping to complete 20 to 25 per week.
The typical turnaround time for an order is about three weeks.
That can expand to nearly two months, during the busy holiday season.

“Christmas,” he said, “is nuts.”

Though LaFree regularly is “super busy,” he remains grateful to do something he enjoys.

“There are not a whole lot of us that have made a whole business out of it,” he said.

The work, too, has given the artist an appreciation “for all of the diversity of life on this planet.

“I’ve learned about so many different breeds. I know more about dogs than I ever thought there was to know,” he said.

Meanwhile, the artist’s drawing style continues evolving.

That includes incorporating more realistic visual features, like pinpointing a pet’s glassy eyes or moisture in its gums.

“I’ve continued to be a student of what I’m doing. I’ve always tried some new stuff,” LaFree said.

Several other ventures, too, are in the works for LaFree.

They range from molding dog sculptures, to writing a children’s book.

There’s also a project called Boozehoundz, a cartoon drawing about dogs with drinking problems.

“I try to branch out,” LaFree said. “The more I can do, the more interesting it stays for me.”

LaFree has a tent at the Fresh Market at The Shops at Wiregrass the first and third Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For information, visit CanineCaricatures.com.

Published April 26, 2017