The Boss Portrait

Your dog, in full regalia. The Boss is the royal portrait — from your photo, not a costume on a stock pose.

The Boss Portrait (Royal) keeps the same careful likeness as The Heirloom and dresses it with a hint of theatre: a painted collar, a composed sit, the joke that lands because the face is right. Hand-illustrated. Proof and unlimited edits, included. Archival paper, solid wood. From $89.

What The Boss is

Some dogs have always been in charge. Breakfast, a strategic nap, a 4:30 meeting by the door. The Boss is for that household — ceremony on the wall, without turning the portrait into a cartoon. The likeness still comes from your photograph. We do not paste a crown onto a generic silhouette and call it done.

Otto hangs in a hallway. Duke holds a gallery wall. Both started as phone pictures. You can see Otto’s before-and-after on this page: the snapshot, then The Boss.

It is not an oil painting. It is not a filter. A studio illustrator draws your dog, then we print on archival paper and frame the work in solid wood.

What you send

A clear photograph, the same as every other style. Natural light, at their eye level, face and ears visible. Phone photos are fine. Older photos are fine. If the file will not work, we write before we begin. Photo guide.

The royal wardrobe is drawn by the studio. You do not need a costume photograph. Send the face you love; we take it from there.

How the commission works

Upload the photograph, add their name, add The Boss to your cart. Frame, size, and background sit after the studio default — black / 8×10″ / soft white — unless you want to choose. Two pets as an option.

We send a digital proof before we print. If the collar should sit differently, if an ear is off, if you want a quieter background — say so. Unlimited complimentary edits. Nothing prints until you approve.

After approval: archival paper, solid wood, packed to arrive intact. One to two weeks to proof, a few days per edit, about a week to print and ship. Free shipping over $100.

What’s included

• Hand-illustrated royal portrait from your photograph
• Proof before print, unlimited complimentary edits
• Archival paper, solid wood (or no frame)
• From $89 — default 8×10, black, soft white
• Backgrounds: Soft White, Warm Cream, Dusty Pink, Sage, Charcoal
• Two pets as an option
• Thirty-night guarantee

Sizes and frames

Same scale as The Heirloom. 8×10″ from $89. 12×16″ from $119. 18×24″ from $159. Walnut and birch a step above painted frames. No frame if you already have a moulding you like.

The guarantee

Thirty nights on your wall. If the likeness is wrong or the piece is at fault, we reprint, re-illustrate, or refund. The proof is there so you are not discovering the portrait when the box arrives. hello@elmandtail.com.

Materials, shipping, and the calendar

We print on archival, acid-free paper so the blacks stay black and the sheet does not yellow. Frames are solid wood — black, white, walnut, or birch — cut for the size you choose. No frame if you would rather take the print to your own framer.

Illustration and first proof typically take one to two weeks from a usable photograph. Edits are usually a few days each. After you approve, we print, frame, and ship within about a week. Free shipping over $100 inside the United States. We send tracking when the portrait leaves the studio. If you are working to a date, write it in the order notes. We will not promise a calendar we cannot keep.

Questions we hear

Is a phone photo enough? Yes, if the face is clear. Maple, Otto, and Olive all started that way.

What if I don’t like the first proof? Then we have not finished. Revisions are unlimited and complimentary. Nothing is printed until you approve.

Can two pets share one portrait? Yes. Tick “Add a second pet” and send a clear photograph of each.

Do you sell merch with the face on it? No. Elm & Tail is the portrait — paper, wood, and the proof. No mugs, no pillows, no crewnecks on this studio.

More on the homepage, or write hello@elmandtail.com.