Live Dog Portraits at Maison Assouline

In a unique combination of two of my favourite things, bookstores and dogs, I was invited to create live portraits of dogs at Maison Assouline in March to celebrate the launch of their book ‘Chic Dogs’.

It was an in-store activation to encourage customers to bring their dogs into the beautiful store in Piccadilly, London. If they made a purchase in store, they received a free portrait of their pup, hand painted by me in just 10 minutes using watercolour and fineliner pens.

Visitors to Maison Assouline can enjoy beautiful and rare works of art, whilst browsing a range of luxury publications and gifts. They can also enjoy a light lunch or cocktail at the Swan Bar. On the day of the book launch for ‘Chic Dogs’ they were also offering branded ‘puptinis’ for furry visitors.

Assouline is a brand where culture meets luxury. They create a range of exceptionally crafted books, home fragrances, and objets d’art, which are sold at their boutiques and stores-in-stores across the world.

Live illustration is such a wonderful way to create a unique experience for customers and give them a beautiful memento of the day. In 2024 I created live portraits at 14 events at John Lewis across the south-east of the UK. It was incredibly popular with customers and it was a great way to celebrate the fact that many John Lewis stores are now dog friendly.

To create live portraits of dogs, I take a quick photo (which takes some skill!), and then i create portraits in just 5-10 minutes using watercolours and pens. The portraits are then signed and packaged in a clear cellophane bag for customers to take home safely.

If you have a live event coming up which you think would be a good fit for live portriats, please get in touch via my contact form.

Below are some examples of the live dog portraits I created at Maison Assouline.