Commissioned Paintings

Hello art lover! I’m Ilona Cutts, a professional painter living in Atlanta. I specialize in Chihuahua Portraiture with a “twist” which I call “Chi Creatures”. I also do girl themed commissioned portraits, animals portraits and still life commissions. Please see examples below.

I love painting Chihuahuas because they are like small slender dolls with the most expressive and hauntingly beautiful eyes. Over the years, in addition to my personal work, I have lovingly painted many commissioned Chihuahua Character portraits which have all been received by their owners with surprise and delight.

All my commissions are hand painted in oils onto canvas, wood, panel or paper, and are one-of-a-kind original artworks. It gives me great joy to work closely with my clients, and visualize their “dream’ in my minds eye, to then make that vision come to life on canvas.

If you have been imagining your beloved Chihuahua immortalized as an 18th Century Royal Princess indulging herself with her favorite cupcakes, or a dreamy girl themed commission, you have come to the right place. I love doing commissions!

Please note that due to my yearly exhibition schedule, I have time for only a limited number of commissions a year. Be sure to leave ample time to order it, so that you get it on time and email me to get on the waiting list.

Thank you for your interest in my art!

Get on my waiting list here

  • Moxie's Wonderland 2022

    Moxie as Alice in Wonderland. This is a miniature oil painting with an antique frame from my antique frames collection.

  • Moxie's Wonderland 2022

    (Detail)

  • Mojo the Mad Hatter

    Mojo took the personality of The Mad Hatter in the story of Alice in Wonderland. He now stands next to the love of his life, Moxie’s Wonderland.

  • Hidden Numbers

    For this painting I was given the following elements to work with; knowlege, numbers and Spiritual growth. I chose horses to symbolize determination, endurance and spirit. The moths symbolize rebirth, change and transformation. If you look closely there are hidden numbers in the forest, that have special meaning to my client.

    My client was very happy with her painting and said this: “Absolutely beautiful with all the details that emanate from my Soul to your brush.”

  • Sound of a Forest

    This was a commissioned portrait of a family with two chihuahuas, a boy and girl. Music was a relevant theme in this painting and I wanted to capture their love for each other through music in a magical forest.

  • Dolce Vita

    The love for Italy and love of life was the theme of this painting. Three chihuahua sisters, two of them still alive and the third (with the halo) is their departed sister.

    “Ilona, you have outdone yourself!!! I’m sitting here with tears rolling down my cheeks as I look at the photos of the painting and read your words!! You have captured it ALL — that is exactly how we live our life, celebrating every moment, even when there are sad times! The detail is EXQUISITE! Their beautiful little faces are incredible!! I love the wings and halo on Vixen and the symbolism of the blue butterflies (which happens to be Chuck’s favorite color!!)!! The columns are MAGNIFICENT with the engraved faces!! I also love their dresses - you don’t know this but I very rarely wear pants; I’m ALL about dresses ALL the time!! So for the girls to be in dresses is so perfect!! I just love how their little feet are in the different positions!!! It’s absolute PERFECTION. You have captured our family, our life, our love of our dogs so perfectly!! I’m just OVERJOYED to have this amazing artwork in our home!!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Ilona. ~ Jess.”

  • Hillary

    This was a commissioned portrait of Hillary the rambunctious chicken, who lives in a White House in Finland.

  • I Love Dolly

    Dolly is a celebrated chihuahua and it was the grandmother who contacted me and wanted me to paint her two grandchildren and Dolly celebrating life. The heart was part of the theme and if you look closely you will see a heart in many places.

  • The Proposal

    This painting was to mark a special event in my clients life. It was her engagement gift to her fiancé. I painted the rose as a symbol of their budding love. Little did I know that he had given her pink roses as a gift on their first encounter. So when my client saw the rose in the painting she could not believe “the coincidence”!

  • Honey Bee Family

    I was commissioned to paint a family portrait in my own style with the theme of honey bees. Their passion and hobby was caring for bees. I wanted to create harmony in the painting as I sensed a strong sense of unity and love between the family members.

  • King Colibri

    My client was going through a difficult time in her life and wanted a bird that would bring her hope.

  • The Awakening

    M client was going through some major life transformations and wanted me to make a painting for her of her favorite flowers depicting a Soul’s awakening.

  • Katherine the Great

    Katherine the Great’s mom asked me to include her love for cupcakes and all things delicious for this painting. The theme was Marie Antoinette in all her splendour enoying a cupcake fest!

    “Thank you for a beautiful painting, Ilona. I LOVE it” - Niia N.

  • Il Fasionista

    I painted "Tessa, the fashionist" in 2012 for Tessa's human Mom Shifra. Tessa is a beautiful real life Chihuahua model for Haute Couture clothing at a luxury dog boutique. She loves going shopping in Italy for the Italian Haute Couture designs! (This painting went to Canada.)

    “Dear Ilona, the painting arrived safely. It is so beautiful in real life. My husband loves it! Thank you again and again. I love what you do. - Shifra”

  • Hukilau Hula

    Delilah (the one eyed Chihuahua rescue) and Chaggaboom are best friends. They love listening to Hawaian music like "Hukilau Hula" and dressing up in a 1960's pyjama party. Delilah loves cookies and pizza crust! Chaggaboom adores skateboarding and hiding socks in all sorts of unimaginable places. They are both in Heaven now and remembered dearly by their owner Michael Angelo. (This painting went to California. USA)

    “Hi Ilona, I just wanted to let you know that I received the painting the other day and I LOVE IT! I can’t believe how beautiful it is and how happy it made me - I actually started crying. Your painting (oops - MY painting!!!!) brought up so many memories as I looked again at all the detail and how much of Delilah and Chuggaboom you put into it. I am happy beyond belief!! - Michael Angelo”

Ready to begin? Here’s how it works:

Step 1 (Choosing format)

Choose your preferred format and size of painting according to your budget and the theme you want in your painting. If you have trouble deciding on the theme, you can also leave that up to me, or we can discuss the idea together and I will help you decide which format and size suits your needs/desires best.

Step 2 (Initial payment)

You will receive an invoice by email. A 50% deposit toward the total price of the art work will be due upon initiating (we take all major credit cards, pay pal, Venmo). Once we have discussed the details of your commissioned work via email you will receive a personalized invoice via email. You may then use a "pay here" button on my site and will receive a receipt of payment.

Step 3 (Gathering material for Chi Creature portraits)

I usually need at least 5-10 photographs (the best you can give me) of your dog in a determined position (priorly discussed). I work best with photos that have been taken from the same level as the dog (head shots), a ¾ view from either side, front shots are good too. I will then be asking you to describe your dog’s personality. This is the fun part! Here is where I get to know your dog better and it makes it easier for me to determine what “role” he/she should play in the painting. We will be exchanging some emails with thoughts on the theme of the painting, preferred colors, clothes he/she will be wearing and any other wishes you might have.

Step 4 (Sketching)

Once all ideas on the theme of the work have been discussed and agreed upon, I begin sketching your painting. At this point no more additions/changes can be made to your painting. Sketching can take from 1-2 weeks depending on the size of your work of art. (Please note: I do not share my sketches of the painting. You will have to trust me on this one!) The sketch is not included in the sale of the artwork (sketch can be purchased separately).

Step 5 (Painting begins)

Now I begin actually painting! Yay! The amount of time varies depending on complexity of the painting. Once the painting is finalized you will receive 1-3 images via email of your finished “Character portrait painting”.

Step 6 (Final payment)

Final payment is due upon completion including shipping cost. Your painting will be either shipped as is if it is small enough, or rolled if it is going overseas. (This to avoid damaging the painting).

Here comes the best part...upon receiving, you get to hang your work of art and be sure to enjoy fun comments from friends and family!

Shipping

My paintings ship from Atlanta, GA. USA. Shipping quotes are determined at the very end and this will be added to the final invoice.

Additional notes; Shipping and insurance is not included in prices. *Overseas shipping: Shipping costs, Customs tax and insurance not included. If you want insurance please let me know beforehand.

Important notice: The Copyright remains the Property of the Artist Ilona Cutts and her heirs. This copyright does not transfer in any way to the buyer with the sale of the painting. For licensing the image or any other questions, please contact me for more information.

Have more questions? Contact me here

Here is a detail of my painting “Dolce Vita”. “Vixen” is the departed sister in. Their “Mom” Jessica, wanted them with Italy’s Piazza San Marco as the backdrop for the painting. She asked me to choose their dresses and left the rest to my artistic choosing. As Vixen has already passed away, I chose her to appear as an angel with angel wings and a halo. Jessica was very happy with her painting.