Caylee Wells - Pet artist and creator of Waterpop Gifts
Photo taken by @chicagopetportraits
About the Artist: Waterpop Gifts (Caylee Wells) is a custom pet artist living in Chicago, Illinois. She specializes in traditional hand painted watercolor, markers, and ink. Her goal is to bring out your pet’s character and personality through variation in linework, loose, free, and adventurous colors and textures. Caylee focuses on selling her work locally through public markets, festivals, and through dog rescue organization events, gala's and fundraising. Caylee has sold and donated custom artwork in collaboration with PAWS, Alive Rescue, Chicago Canine Rescue, One Tail at a Time, Bosley's Backyard, Canine Crews, and has participated in Edgewater Art Festival, West Fest, Wicker Park Fest, and Lakeview Halloween Pup Crawl to name a few. Caylee regularly collaborates with local pet organizations to draw custom sketches live for guests and often donates a portion of the profits back to the pet rescue organizations. Caylee’s artwork is currently on display at Broadway Animal Hospital in Edgewater and at Canine Crews Doggy Daycare in the front store. Caylee has made donations to and created custom work for Canine Therapy Corps as well as custom work for Boulevard Vet. Caylee created Waterpop Gifts in June 2020, a custom art business that celebrates your pet by creating special art you can cherish forever. Caylee hopes to expand her products and offerings at Waterpop in the near future.
Pet artist and creator of Waterpop Gifts, Caylee Wells, celebrates our pets by creating special art you can cherish forever.
Working as a pet portrait artists is a unique and specific niche and art form which is within the area of portraiture, custom portraiture, animals, and pets. There are many successful pet portrait artists staying very busy these days, and as the pet adoption rates have skyrocketed during COVID when everyone was working from home, so have custom products and gifts. I am happy to be a part of that growth and evolution in our culture.
We all have, including myself, loved and lost pet family members over the years, and I empathize with my customer base deeply for this reason. This empathy is a huge force behind my work and I welcome this shared love of our pet family members to my relationship with customers. I understand that each pet has unique qualities and flaws that define their precious souls and our connections to them and I take great care to embody this into each and every unique portrait.
I do this by communicating with the pet owner to find the perfect reference photo of their pet and by talking with them about their pets personality and their relationship with their pet. I take time to appreciate the reference photo and consider why the pet owner chose this specific photo. I focus the portrait on areas where my heart is drawn and any other unique characteristics or moods coming through the reference photo and conversation with the pet owner that I sense.
Most of my customers have never commissioned artwork before. I love that I am able to bring customers into, what is often considered intimidating, the space of working with an artist to bring their vision to life. I do my best to make the ordering process easy and simple and I enjoy the collaboration between me and my customers. While still adhering to the classic Waterpop style, I am happy to take the lead or to sit back and hear your vision. Once the customer’s pet portrait is complete, all Traditional Custom Pet Portrait customers receive a time-lapse video where they can watch the creative process unfold. Customers see their pet manifest through watercolor in a unique way, celebrating their pet’s life, and with immense gratitude, I am able to leave them with a special gift. A hand-made work of art that they can cherish for years to come.
It is through my work as a pet portrait artist that I am able to see the love humans are capable of and celebrate the gift that a pet family member contributes to our lives.
In Fall of 2019, I unexpectedly lost my calico cat, Gurl, of 14 years. She had suddenly stopped eating and we discovered a mass in her chest a week later. Her body and organs were actively failing and treatment was not an option. She was silently suffering and we had to put her down that very day. Gurl and I lived together through 10+ apartments over the period of a decade and that day I came home without her. My relationship and loss with Gurl fuels my painting for all of you.
Luckily, Rosie was given to me in the Fall of 2019. She is a 11 year old Ragdoll made of pure love <3
Event photos
At Broadway Animal Hospital in Chicago posing next to a print from the original painting of Sadie whose owner was the winner at the Alive Rescue's Auction in June 2021
Posing next to my very special sign at the PAWS fundraising event "Animal Magnetism" in April 2023 where Waterpop donated live pet portrait sketches to raise money for homeless animals.
Bosly's Backyard pet vendor Wag-O-Ween event in October 2022.
Barktoberfest at the Sheraton downtown Chicago in September 2022
Working as a mascot for the Morning Glory Art Fair in Milwaukee Summer 2017
Bartoberfest at Canine Crews Chicago Fall 2022
At Broadway Animal Hospital showcasing Waterpop artwork
Third Space Artisan Market November 2022
Lakeview Halloween pup crawl Fall 2022
Friends
Waterpop art booth at Edgewater Arts Festival Summer 2021
At Wildman BT Fundraiswer for Paws Fall 2023. Photography by https://graceriosphotography.com/
Canine Crews Barktoberfest Fall 2023
Doing live illustrations at Logan Vegan Winter 2024
