“I am absolutely amazed by Carolyn’s artistry! From a collection of photographs, she created a stunning portrait of my mother’s mare. The attention to detail is nothing short of awe-inspiring! She managed to capture not only her appearance, but also her personality. I couldn’t be happier with the result and it was a beautiful gift to give. It made my Mom cry tears of joy.”
— Olivia K. (Huntsville, MD)
“Carolyn was an absolute joy to work with! She was prompt in correspondence and is clearly knowledgeable of her trade, not to mention incredibly talented. I commissioned a custom portrait of a family dog that meant so much to my Aunt and Uncle, and Carolyn captured Fritz’s expression and personality perfectly. She was also able to do our custom portrait in just about a months time, far quicker than I ever anticipated. Thank you again, Carolyn, for the wonderful custom dog portrait. I can’t wait to get another portrait done!”
— Julia M. (Carrollton, TX)
“It’s so perfect. You are amazing – you really captured Holiday. We lost Holiday in August and have been planning on doing this for my husband, but just haven’t found the person that I thought could capture Holiday. These are so so special and so perfect. Thank you so much. I really really love it. Thank you! ”
— Rachel H. (Marshall, VA)
“We are so happy with the portrait of Muffin. You truly have a beautiful talent. The detail of his curly hair, the precision to the photo, we are in absolute awe. I was going to give the portrait to my husband next week but I was just too excited. He absolutely loves it, so does Muffin. Muffin is two now but we miss his baby face. Now we can see it everyday on our wall.”
— Gabby & Bane G. (Toronto, ON)
“Carolyn was able to capture our darling Welsh terrier ‘Lenny’ so beautifully and accurately. Her work is incredibly detailed and powerful, as our pet’s resemblance and personality is completely conveyed. Thank-you Carolyn for creating a piece for our family to cherish forever.”
— Nicole S. (Whitby, ON)
“I will never be able to thank you enough for this painting. It perfectly captured Rani in every way. You are truly perfection at what you do. Thank you again for helping us remember our girl.”
— Naushin V. (Ottawa, ON)
“I commissioned a portrait of our beloved labrador retriever Zoey for a family Christmas present. The portrait is absolutely beautiful and so expressive. Carolyn was a pleasure to work with and captured Zoey’s expression and personality perfectly.”
— Jennifer M. (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)
“Noodles passed away suddenly on August 4th. My daughter, Caroline, was with him at the time. He was such a good little pony boy, and held a special part of our hearts that we commissioned Carolyn Nikolai Illustrations to paint his portrait…We are so impressed at how she caught his true character – the expression in his eye – the little tuck of his head – the wind in his mane… This is our Noodles!! Thank you so much Carolyn!!”
— Linda S. (Oxford Mills, ON)
“We cannot thank you enough for the stunning portrait of Abbie. You captured her spirit with grace and beauty and we couldn’t be happier! This portrait symbolizes for us her unconditional love, gentleness and free spirit – what a beautiful commemorative tribute to our baby girl who will live in our hearts forever. Thank you will never be enough.”
— Michelle & Pietro C. (Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, QC)
“Love, love, love how you captured the essence of our beautiful Pongo who passed suddenly a few weeks short of his 14th birthday. He was a perfect gentlemen and such a valued member of our family and community. Your talent, sensitivity, and compassion has been so appreciated. Many thanks from the Kines family.”
— Koren K. (Winnipeg, MB)
“I would highly recommend that anyone commission Carolyn Nikolai to immortalize their beloved fur babies! She has an incredible talent for capturing the soul and personality of her subjects. She was very professional and friendly taking care of the business side of our order as well. Importantly, her commissions are very reasonably priced. She responded to inquiries quickly and finished our commission by the requested date. She even had it beautifully gift-wrapped for us! The level of detail in her portrait was unbelievable and it felt like we were looking into the horse’s eyes in person. Gorgeous! From now on, I will always be asking Carolyn to lend her talent to capture our dogs and horses – she is just that good.”
— Kyla D. B. (Barrhaven, ON)
“I am beyond ecstatic about the piece she did for my wife as a surprise birthday gift. What an amazing talent Carolyn is! Not only did she do a phenomenal job recreating my three dogs together but she is incredibly easy to work with. Her attention to detail is impeccable and she really takes pride in producing the best portraits and art. I would highly recommend her to anyone serious about quality and professionalism.

Carolyn thank you so much again for creating such a beautiful piece we can all enjoy for a long time!”
— Mike N. (Mountain View, CA)
“Carolyn is so talented and accommodating. She even met with us to go over photos of Faye and helped us decide what would work well together. She used different photos for the background, pose and colouring and made it work so beautifully. This painting so captures Faye; I feel like she’s right in our home! When we unwrapped the parcel, I can honestly say we all said ‘Wow’ at the same time.”
— Petra W. (Ottawa, ON)
“Words cannot describe how happy I am with the finished portrait of Briggs. This portrait is like looking at the picture from the day it was taken. Carolyn’s work is precisely detailed, and her true talent shines through.”
— Jenna L. (Barrhaven, ON)
“I commissioned Carolyn to make a portrait of Stryker, my granddaughter Sara’s dog. Carolyn was able to capture the expression of his eyes and other detail in the painting with an incredible resemblance. Carolyn is talented, professional and patient. It was a real pleasure to work with her. Thank you for making a great gift for Sara.”
— Charlotte R. (Ottawa, ON)