Sheila Chen is a pet portrait and children's book illustration artist based in Hawaii. She
balances being a new mom, military spouse, and artist with a strong cup of coffee and
a childish curiosity. Since she became a full time pet portrait artist in September of 2017,
she has made over 1000 commissions of sweet fur babies.
Sheila enjoys working closely with her clients with
every step of the process. After learning about each fur baby's unique personalities, she works with clients to find the perfect reference photos and shares painting updates until the artwork is completed...
Sheila’s passion is creating Children’s books. She
loves making each character come to life all while
providing a vivid background for them to exist
in. Each story unique and deserving of their
own imaginary world.
“Out of over 100 applicants, Sheila Chen was able to capture the souls and personalities of our
dogs through her illustrations like none other. When illustrating our book, Lucy and Clark: A
Story of Puppy Love, she was perfectly communicative and was happy and quick to make
changes based on feedback. Sheila is great at accommodating our vision. She was able to
illustrate our whole 27 page children's book in only two weeks and created beautiful, high
quality images that pop off the page. Sheila works well on a time crunch and with publishing
companies that require a lot of correspondence and last minute changes. Sheila Chen is an
incredible artist and a joy to work with.”
Sheila Chen is a master of her craft, incredibly sweet and very personable. The water color portrait
she created of our two dogs, Lola & Phiefer, brought me to tears. The portrait is proudly displayed in
our store, The Public Pet, and is an immediate conversation starter. While talking to customers,
everyone is surprised to learn that the portrait was done with water colors, the attention to detail is
insane! During the creation process, Sheila was professional and checked in several times with
updates on our finished piece. I am so honored to have this portrait as a daily reminder of my dogs,
I will absolutely work with Sheila again for future artwork!
Not only is Sheila Chen and incredible artist - she made the whole process really fun and
incredible easy. I of course wanted to go all out for our photo of Lex Luthor who had passed
recently. It was a gift for my boyfriend and I shared a photo of him with Sheila and let her take
her artistic direction with it. She recommended we turn him into a captain overlooking the
river where we live which was fitting because we live in a sea-town. I chose oil because it was
the most luxurious in my opinion and I am so glad I did. I was absolutely BLOWN away by the
final product. Not only was it a stunning display of artistry, she captured him EXACTLY how he
was. That piece of art is a prized possession in our house - we framed it with a gold frame and
now he is a Captain forever in our hearts.
Sheila's energetic, fun loving and creative personality came through from the moment we
met her. She truly loves what she does and made the experience so personal and special. Her
communication through the process and her request for feedback were so appreciated. The
painting we have is truly one of the most treasured items we own. It is such a conversation starter
and truly brings me joy every single time I see it in our dining room.
Sheila did artwork of one of our foxes here at non-profit fox rescue SAVEAFOX Rescue. She made
a process super easy for me and she was great to work with. Not only was the process easy and quick
but the artwork was absolutely Phenomenal! It literally looked just like the photograph. She would
definitely be my top 1 recommendation to anyone wanting a pet portrait. You won't be
disappointed!
When I first saw the photo of Lionel’s pet portrait by Sheila my jaw literally dropped. The detail is
absolutely INCREDIBLE. You can immediately tell it’s Lionel! Sheila does more than just draw animals,
she truly captures each one’s unique spirit. When the original arrived I loved it even more! My sassy
hedgehog is now hanging up on my wall and has become one of my favorite pieces in my home.
I know it’s something we’ll keep forever!
I came across Sheila’s work online and the second I saw it, I knew that a pet portrait of our dog
Brutus would be the perfect Christmas gift for my mom. Sheila was responsive and professional
throughout the process - after I submitted my reference photos she was prompt in providing
step-by-step updates of the portrait as she created it, and always within the time frame she
specified. With each update, I was delighted to see the portrait of Brutus come to life. When
the final portrait arrived in the mail, I could barely contain my excitement and almost gave it to
my mom immediately instead of waiting a few more weeks until Christmas. I forced myself to
wait and I’m so glad I did - my mom was totally surprised and so in love with the portrait. She
immediately hung the portrait in her home and when I see it, I still can’t get over how it looks
EXACTLY like him. Thank you, Sheila!
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