Artist Started Recreating Famous Paintings Together With Her Dog During Quarantine, And They’re Still Going Strong Two Years Later (New Pics)

Here’s how Eliza introduced herself, her dog, and their mission: “I’m Eliza Reinhardt and my dog is Finnegan (Finn for short) – we are originally from Iowa, but we’re currently living in Texas! I’m a painter by trade and when the pandemic hit I was laid off of my jobs so I was going to just paint at home, but Finn wanted to ‘help’ me. I needed to come up with a project that he could be included in so I saw that the Met and Getty Museum were doing this challenge as a way to keep people involved in the museum/online collection! We did one and both of us loved it so we never really stopped. (we’ve done almost 450 now). Finn is a working breed (Australian shepherd) so he takes these photos as his ‘job.'”

Though it may look like a joke, it takes time to set up a good shot. And the process is constantly evolving. “Maybe a year ago it would take me anywhere from 4-8+ hours to do these, but because we’ve done so many I kind of have a hang of it so it moves a bit quicker! I can usually get them done in under 3 hours if I’m lucky – there are some days when it takes 4+ but that would be because it’s really big or because my day is really busy (I work full-time on top of doing these + running my Etsy shop + being Finn’s full-time mother, hahahah).”

“In the beginning I would look through collections every morning and pick, but we’ve done 450 different ones now so I have to be a bit more selective. I went to art school and I try and do artists I love or works that draw me in, I’m not too interested in doing works that don’t speak to me because that takes the fun out of it. For the past year and a half I’ve been focusing on works by women – trying to share their stories, share their works and give them the credits that they probably didn’t get back in the times of white male artists dominating the art world!”

Once you do something enough times, you tend to get better, and these painting recreations are no different in this regard. “I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the past two years, I have a select arsenal of items that I go back to and I kind of have a hang of how to do it most efficiently. I will just use things I have around the house, clothes, things from my studio, linens, etc. I’ve gotten pretty crafty and also will paint backgrounds or props if need be! Finn is incredible, as a working breed they need a job in order to feel like they have accomplished a ‘task’ in their day. He works so hard to please me and will do absolutely anything. He’s outstanding as a dog, but also the breed is just incredible!”