Shih Tzu

The Shih Tzu is the only dog in this gallery bred for no job whatsoever. While every other breed here was herding, retrieving or going down holes after something, the Shih Tzu was in a palace being carried - a companion to the Chinese imperial court and nothing else, for the better part of a thousand years. It shows. They are small without ever being timid, stubborn in the particular manner of someone who has never once been told no, and entirely certain that the warmest seat in the house was set aside for them.

Each portrait is an original watercolour: confident, visible brushstrokes on cold-press paper, in the tradition of natural-history illustration rather than smoothed-over digital art. Real paper grain, real pigment variation, the occasional soft bloom where wet colour met wet colour.

This portrait keeps the chrysanthemum face - the coat parting in every direction at once, dark round eyes somewhere behind it, and an expression of complete and unbothered composure.

Available coat colourways: Golden, Black, Cream and Brown - match the portrait to your own dog, or simply choose the one you love most.

What's included - choose your format:

• Digital Download - a high-resolution JPEG, sent to you by email as soon as your order is confirmed. Large enough to print at A1 (59 x 84 cm) at 300 dpi with room to spare, and yours to reprint whenever you like.
• Archival Matte Poster - printed on heavyweight, fade-resistant matte paper by our EU print partner, OPT OnDemand (Czechia), quality-checked by hand and shipped protected in a rigid carton. Built to hold its colour for decades.

Sizes & pricing:

For anyone whose lap has been claimed by royal decree.