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When my wife was pregnant with our little boy, I made a narrative illustration of us standing in the snow, waiting at the mailbox for a "delivery" as our Christmas card/baby announcement. I had my paintbrushes in hand. She had her pregnant belly. And our bouncy black dog was excited to see what was in the mail.

When I posted it I received a massive outpouring of love toward it, along with requests from people to illustrate their family. So a few paintings later I had a huge portfolio full of family illustrations. Now I work with people around the world constructing personalized quirky artworks for their families as keepsakes/snapshots of a particular moment in their lives.

As for my work process, I email clients a chiseled questionnaire designed to extract the most important details about their bond with each other. Their answers provide the content for the illustration. I love combining my passion for painting with getting to know each family and their unique story. And finally, I use a pencil and watercolor on Arches watercolor paper for all my illustrations.

More info: jrutlandcustoms.com

This post may include affiliate links.

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    Tolga ÜSTÜN
    Tolga ÜSTÜN
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Little dog looks like, "step away, me first!"

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    Night Owl
    Night Owl
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Looks fun; but, being more of an introvert, that would definitely be too crowded for me.

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    Night Owl
    Night Owl
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like this one. They caught each other and made a beautiful heart.

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    Tolga ÜSTÜN
    Tolga ÜSTÜN
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Cheating with mechanical leg when you drink alcohol... "guess I forgot how to dog..."

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    Enea
    Enea
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aww, and look at that cute family moose!

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    Agnes Jekyll
    Agnes Jekyll
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aww. This might be the sweetest--just because a family can be a man and his dog.

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    Susann Campbell
    Susann Campbell
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This family went to a lot of places in the world and probably helped a village get their very own elephant.

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    BusLady
    BusLady
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Little boy brought his dinosaur. How cute.

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    sh
    sh
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Love the lineman! Under represented demographic.

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    Night Owl
    Night Owl
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    7 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The dog looks still shocked he's been replaced

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    BusLady
    BusLady
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I thought the Tardis was bigger. Oh, wait, that's on the inside.....

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    Kiss Army
    Kiss Army
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    Premium     7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Seet angel kitty... gone but never forgotten!

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    Agnes Jekyll
    Agnes Jekyll
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Whoa, the style of this one is so different from the others--less cartoon and more portrait--is this an early one?

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    Night Owl
    Night Owl
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So not all their dogs are angels.

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    Tigers
    Tigers
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Different parts of a family

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    Lola Run
    Lola Run
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Really nice drawing. Love the cherry trees

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    Milena Matic
    Milena Matic
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love the Crock & Hippo dance detail on top of the tent, from Disney's "Fantasia"! <3

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    Agnes Jekyll
    Agnes Jekyll
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So sweet--whose are those tiny little hands? (it doesn't matter, but it does beg for a backstory!)

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    Deena Salzman
    Deena Salzman
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm surprised the sorting hat didn't put Darth Vader in Slytherin!

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    Night Owl
    Night Owl
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If sport is the biggest thing they're arguing about, it's all good

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    BusLady
    BusLady
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How nice to include pets that have passed on.

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    BusLady
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    7 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Jesus plays guitar? Who knew.

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