Lisa Hershman knows how much people love their pets and now she is making sure they have a keepsake to remember their four-legged friends.

The Laguna Niguel resident paints pet portraits in acrylics, as well as donates a portion of the proceeds to pet charities.

“People deeply love their pets," said Hershman, 49. "Whether their pet is still with them or a favorite memory, a painting of someone's pet captures its personality forever and is something they will cherish. I am excited to bring that happiness to someone,” she said.

“For every custom pet portrait I create, I donate 10 percent to their favorite animal charity, animal shelters and rescue centers.”

Born in Chicago and raised in the suburbs of Franklin Park and Schaumburg, she moved out to San Diego in the early 1990s. After meeting her husband, they moved to Orange County after he got a job here.

As for art, her aspirations started at a young age, she said. 

“I always loved art and wanted to be involved with art in some way. I got my bachelor of arts in graphic design from the University of Illinois and always kept painting close at hand,” she said.

She realized that the art bug hit her early on, too. 

“My mom saved a painting of mine where I made the sky green and the grass blue. She loved my creativity.”

As for painting pets, it’s something she thoroughly enjoys.

“I have also painted people and still lifes, but pets kept coming up in the scenes that I'd create. People would always comment on the animals in my paintings, so I thought, why not just give full attention to them? Now I'm just concentrating on pets. I have created a series called 'Waiting' about our pets being content to wait for us no matter what. In this series, I show the entire pet and the owner from about the knee down to the foot. You can get their entire relationship just from seeing them from that perspective.”

Hershman paints for anyone who loves their pets or who wants to give a painting as a gift to someone they love.

“No famous dogs, but I've painted a dog of a famous Major League Baseball player. He's played for the Cubs and the San Francisco Giants,” she said.

Hershman and her husband, also a “fellow pet-lover” of 16 years, and their two boys in middle school have a couple of dogs, too.   

“We have a terrier, labrador, white shepherd mix with an underbite, named Powder. We got her from a rescue shelter in Venice Beach when she was 6 months old. She was found wandering the streets. She is now 5 1/2 years old and a wonderful addition to our family. Before we had Powder, we had two Lab mixes, both from animal shelters. Boy, do I have stories about them! I can't say enough about how much animal shelters and rescues are a blessing.”

The paintings range from $300 for an 8" x 10" to $850 for a 24" x 30" and up. The hours it takes to paint, depends on the detail, size, and the number of pets.

Besides painting, she likes to hang out with family and friends, go on hikes with her dogs, watch movies, cook, bake, design logos and websites, and watch her sons play football.

Her goals she said, include writing and/or illustrating a children's book.

But for now, it's all about the furry critters.

"Pets make people happy. They are always there for us, and they need us. We can never get enough of our pets."