Eyes are mirrors of soul & most important element in pet painting
Harshita Gakkhar at work
Leo
A master of realistic pet portraits, Jaipur-based Harshita Gakkhar specialises in creating memories on canvas. She brings life to beautiful portraits of your pets that will surely become one of your most loved possessions.
Cleopatra and Diana
Vegas and Rio
Casper
Harshita paints pet portraits using water colours. She started out as a hobbyist exploring different subjects and discovered her calling when she connected towards the bond between pet parents and their pets. Her work leans towards expressive realism; her pet portraits have a beautiful warm quality and reflect the personality of pets beautifully. She paints their eyes in the most spectacular way. Harshita believes eyes are mirrors of the soul and most important element in pet painting.
A happy & fulfilling journey
She goes by the name ‘TheDoodleDidi’ which is also her Instagram handle and her alter-ego. She loves interacting with pet parents and transforms their vision into a delightful work of art. Harshita works closely with each pet parent, provides guidance in selecting reference pictures, customisation and even shares progress pictures on her stories so that they don’t miss out on anything. You can see she pours her love in each petportrait and gives special attention to detail. She takes a limited number of commissions in a month as they are traditional style hand-painted portraits.
Bringing emotions to life
When it comes to dogs, they are like a family member and pet parents want to cherish them in an extra special way. “Casper is the apple of our eyes. Needless to say he is our beloved son. We love making memories with him and wanted to celebrate his presence in our life in a unique way. So when I came across Harshita’s insta account, the first thing I noticed was the way she paints the eyes! They are so beautifully justified, she paints the exact expressions of the pet and I knew I wanted her to paint Casper. I sent her hundreds of photos, believe me, she selected the best picture and shared her creative ideas. I could totally rely upon her for creating a masterpiece. She also maintains relations after the commission which is sweet. We are so happy to get Casper painted by her. She is an awesome artist,” said Dr Nisha Thakkar, one of the many happy and satisfied clients.
Pets have so much significance in our lives and bring so much positivity. “Leo, my little bundle of joy, happiness, and play! Thank you for sharing some of the greatest spiritual truths, one wet kiss, lick & poop at a time. Thank you for instilling in me the attitude of play and reminding me that is the only way to live, love and celebrate life. Thank you for giving birth to the fur momma in me. I didn’t realise we all have the gift of unconditional love within us, we just need to channelise it. You are a constant reminder that time is not something to be feared but rather cherished. You never lose out if you dwell in the present moment and live it to the fullest. Some bonds are eternal and they go beyond this physical realm. We celebrated Leo’s fourth birthday in a jungle-themed style and received the best gift. This beautiful portrait of Leo is fabulous and I love the stunning artwork done by Harshita,” said Parmita Shroff, a pet parent and another client of Harshita.
Nova
Marshall
When asked about her most favourite painting Harshita said, “I cherish all my art pieces and always get set when I have to part ways with them. But, Cleopatra and Diana’s sleeping portrait has to be one of my favourite paintings. Rachita, their pet parents, said, “These girls made us realise what pure and unconditional love is, and you don’t need human kids to be a mother. They are sheer happiness and joy of our lives. Harshita has created a masterpiece, and we cannot be more thankful to her than we are. She is so talented and just a pleasure to work with. This painting will always be super special to us.”
Pet parent Rashmi Thakur said, “Dogs are more than just pets, they are like our own children. Marshall is like our first born. He sits on our laps until we give him kisses and belly rubs. He always knows how we are feeling. If my husband had a bad day at work Marshall would dance and wag his tail until the room is filled with laughter. When I had my surgery I was away for a few days. Upon my return, instead of jumping on me with joy, he simply sat around me calmly because he knew I was in pain. During one of his walks a bull came charging at us, without thinking Marshall jumped in front of us and kept barking until the bull went away. This is what we call pure unconditional love. On the occasion of his second birthday we decided to commission a portrait of him by TheDoodleDidi. Happy to say it came out amazing.”
More than two hundred wonderful pet parents have chosen Harshita to capture their furry babies. She hopes by using her skills and talent to create treasured gifts and memories for all pet lovers.