Paint & Pyre, original art, prints, and pyrography by Sara Gilbreath

Original art, prints, and pyrography by Sara Gilbreath

Emotional maximalism, humor, and heart in vivid color.

Sara Gilbreath is a traditional artist operating out of Beaverton, OR. She creates lovingly crafted pet portraits that capture the soul, family portraits, and a steady supply of odd, nostalgic, and whimsical paintings. Right now most of her attention is going into a tarot deck made entirely of hand-painted cat portraits.

Explore the deck Shop the work View the gallery

Two white hares facing each other in the snow in front of a clapboard church, its roof on fire under a full moon

A long haired tabby cat with green eyes, painted on a round panel with her name Luna lettered in red

A Furby painted on a carved wooden heart, purple fur, teal eyes and a yellow beak

New from the markets

A fresh look at the booth

Step inside Sara's latest market setup: portraits, prints, hand-painted magnets and woodburned pieces, all gathered under the black canopy.

Explore the booth

Inside the Paint & Pyre booth, with a black cat banner, portrait displays and a table of small artwork — The latest booth setup, with Sara's banner, artwork and little finds.

Pet Portrait Tarot Deck

Feline Familiar Tarot

78 unique, hand-painted pet commissions forming a complete Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Artwork is finished and ready to publish.

Explore the deck and its story ↗

Every card in the deck is a completely unique commissioned pet portrait. Once each painting was finished, the original was mailed to the commissioner, and a quality scan was taken of the artwork. Seventy-eight cats, seventy-eight owners, one full Rider-Waite deck.

78cards

Major Arcana22
Wands14
Cups14
Swords14
Pentacles14

Tarot Deck: A 78-card Rider-Waite themed cat Tarot. Each card was carefully picked to align with the pet's personality.
Structure: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor, in four suits of 14
Card size: 2.75" x 4.75" (Standard Tarot size)
Paper Weight: 350GSM
Box: Simple tuck box with a hand painted design and gold foil detail
Status: Fully funded and pending a print date

A tarot card numbered six, a winged tabby cat above two faces, an apple and a snake — Three examples from the Major Arcana.

A tarot card numbered two, a calico cat in a white robe with a gold cross and a pomegranate — Three examples from the Major Arcana.

All Tarot Deck slots are filled

Custom Tarot Themed Cat Portrait

$15

Choose a Tarot card you'd like to have your cat painted as, send reference photos, and you'll get back a 2.5"x3.5" original watercolor painting.

Buy here

Work

Paintings, portraits, and pyrography

Acrylic on canvas, watercolour on paper, and pyrography on wood. Commissions on one side, and originals on the other.

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Painted portrait of a golden retriever in a purple bandana on a mountain trail, a lake and a snow capped peak behind him — Golden retriever on the trail

A figure in a white cat mask and lace sitting among red cushions, in front of a heavy red curtain — The figure in the cat mask

Two winged serpents coiled around each other among compass stars and flames, burned into a pale wooden panel — Winged serpents, burned into wood

Watercolour of a headland rock in sea mist, with elk grazing on the wet sand and beach grass in the foreground — Elk on the beach in mist

A hand painted tarot card lettered Q, a tabby cat in an orange rabbit hood holding a pentacle, on a yellow ground with red flowers — A queen, painted as a tabby

A grey wolf snarling beside a pale sleeping figure, among mushrooms and autumn leaves — Wolf in the mushrooms

Details from Sara's work. See available originals and prints on Shopify.

Commissions

Custom pet paintings

Commissions are available for pets of all kinds. Please be sure to send a reference photo.

Tiny watercolour pet portrait2.5 by 3.5 inches on watercolour paper, with a certificate of authenticity. One pet per painting, please.$20 Small watercolour pet portrait4 by 6 inches on archival watercolour paper. Up to 2 pets per painting.$25 Hand painted pet ornamentA 3.5 inch wooden round, painted in acrylic and varnished, ready to hang on a tree.$35 Small acrylic pet portrait5 by 7 inches on canvas. One pet per painting.$150 Medium acrylic pet portrait8 by 10 inches on canvas. She can fit up to 2 pets per painting~$250 Watercolour frame magnetsHand painted framed pictures, small enough for a fridge door.$15

Family portraits, wedding portraits, and larger canvases are priced by size and by how many subjects are in them. If you have a custom request, custom pricing is also available.

Start a commission Plan your pet portrait

FAQ

Do you only paint cat and dog portraits?

No, I can paint anything you want! I love to paint dogs and cats, but I also love painting all animals.

Do you take custom commissions?

Yes. If you don't see what you want listed for sale in my estore, send me a message with your idea, and I can give you several quotes, so you can get a good idea of what you can afford.

Is getting a pet portrait expensive?

Getting your pet painted doesn't have to be expensive. I offer multiple price points and sizes, so anyone can have a real piece of art.

What kinds of photos should I send for reference for my pet portrait?

The best reference photos for any portraits, or really, any painting, have good lighting, high resolution, and color. If you only have blurry or grainy photos, I can still use them, but it does make it harder!

How long does a custom pet portrait take?

I can paint a small or tiny portrait within a few days. Acrylic paintings may take a week or longer.

Meet your artist

Sara Gilbreath

Through vivid, surreal, and kitsch-inspired paintings, I explore the tension between sincerity and satire. My work transforms emotion, humor, and the grotesque into rich visual storytelling.

She works out of Beaverton, Oregon, sells at markets around Portland, and takes commissions year round. The name is literal. Paint for the canvases, pyre for the wood burning.

More about Sara and her work ↗

The Paint & Pyre stall set up in daylight, her printed banner across the front and racks of prints and magnets on the table — The stall set up for the day.

In person

Look for the black cat canopy

Paint & Pyre goes out to markets and art fairs around Portland throughout the year. Follow on Instagram to be the first to know where she will be appearing next.

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From the journal