Cindy P Canty is a fine art pet portrait artist whose work bridges two disciplines rarely mastered by a single hand: professional photography and classical oil painting. For over 20 years, Cindy has built a career on both crafts, photographing her subjects herself before translating each image into a bespoke, hand-painted oil portrait — a process that allows her to capture not just a likeness, but a presence.
Her painting style draws on techniques reminiscent of late 17th-century Italian Renaissance art, favoring rich color, dramatic light, and old-world depth — a visual language historically reserved for portraits of significance. Applied to pet portraiture, this approach elevates each commission from keepsake to heirloom, giving collectors a painting built to be passed down rather than simply displayed.
Cindy's work has been featured in regional and national press throughout her career, including The Spartanburg Herald Journal (December 2010), Greater Charlotte Biz Magazine (October 2011), My Carolina Town–Fort Mill (April 2012), Pride Magazine (November 2013), Belle Magazine (February 2017), The Chapman Cultural Center's Black Artist Highlight series (February 2018), and Voyage Austin Magazine's Inspiring Artist Series (September 2026, Cover Story here).
In October 2013, Cindy produced and exhibited a solo art show in Charlotte, NC, titled "Women on Fire: Storytelling Portraits of Victory," a body of work highlighting the personal triumphs of breast cancer survivors.
Today, Cindy channels that same storytelling instinct into fine art pet portraiture — working with a limited number of commissions each quarter to ensure every piece receives the same level of care and craftsmanship as her earlier exhibited work.