Publisher: GoodAfternoonan | creating gifts for pet owners

I am a self-made animal illustrator. I run a custom pet portrait shop, GoodAfternoonan. I’m also a Seller Education Specialist at Etsy. The postings on this site are my own and represent my own views and opinions, not necessarily those of Etsy. Here’s the story of how it all began. Late one evening in the winter of 2011, I was sitting on my couch, eating bonbons, watching episodes of Arrested Development. A blustery wind rattled my windows, and I pulled my afghan closer around myself. I glanced around my studio. Paint sat unopened. Pens were nestled into an old pickle jar, not one dried up from use. My sewing machine, covered in an old pillowcase, haunted the corner. Something needed to change. The grey winter was creeping over my studio, lulling me into couch potato hibernation. As I went to stash the bonbons back in my kitchen, my eye paused over a small photograph tucked into a magnet sleeve on my refrigerator. Henrietta, a friend’s cat, glared out behind wispy white eyebrows. I snatched it off the fridge, grabbed a few of my pens, rummaged in the drawer for my watercolors, and started my first pet portrait. GoodAfternoonan became my new year’s resolution, and a few months later I was making many pet owners smile. When it’s grey, you only need a little bit of color to brighten things back up.