About Us

Clawed Monet came about as a result of a desire to help both artists and animal rescue! You can get a wonderful portrait of your pet worthy of hanging on your wall while at the same time knowing a percentage of all sales goes to United Hope for Animals, a rescue group out of the Los Angeles. 

So many animals are discarded daily at shelters by people who don't have the knowledge, the know how, or the determination to find these animals homes on their own. At the many shelters around Los Angeles, euthanasia rates for cats is alarmingly high, as much as 95% at some of the high kill shelters (where this photo was taken). 

When I found out about this horrible statistic, I vowed to try to help these dear kitties, and the kitten in the center of this image (who I named "Shanti" —meaning peace) was my first cat rescue. I have since rescued many more, and hope to continue to rescue both cats and dogs with United Hope, whose dedicated volunteers initiated me into the all consuming world of animal rescue. 

I knew I wanted to help United Hope raise money, and also have some of my own to bolster my own fostering efforts on their behalf, but I wasn't quite sure how. There are many generous donors out there, but I wanted to offer something memorable along with a donation, and what better way than to have a wonderful portrait of a cherished pet!

Coincidentally, I had inadvertently gotten an amazing and fun portrait of my own pets that had gotten many comments from visitors to my home. I had photographed my two poodles and noticed something in their expressions that reminded me of the American Gothic painting, so I did a silly photomontage in Photoshop and posted it online. 

A few months later a painter contacted me wanting to use the image as the basis for several products she sold—puzzles, mousepads and the like—and could she have permission to use it? I had no problem if she used my photo as a basis for a painting, and thought the idea was pretty cool. (Unfortunately she was not able to participate in Clawed Monet because of previous contractual obligations.)

As it turns out, she ended up giving me the painting as a thank you, and I put it above my mantlepiece. Nearly everyone that comes over comments about how much fun it is and it brings a smile to their faces. 

Around the same time, a dedicated volunteer for United Hope, Eva Yoe, had expressed an interest in doing pet portraits as a way of raising money for them, and something clicked. Eva, who is very talented at painting animals in watercolor and mixed media, was the first to sign on with Clawed Monet. Since then I have been thrilled the others have wanted to participate. I champion Eva and the other artists on Clawed Monet and elsewhere who help animals in need through their art, while at the same time making enough money for themselves to create more wonderful art. 

To learn more about United Hope for Animals, visit their website at http://www.unitedhope4animals.org. 

Clawed Monet was launched by Amanda Wray and is based in Monrovia, California.