There's one friend in your life who's never gotten a Friendship Day band on their wrist, been on an girl's trip with you, or even sat through an hour-long group video call, but they show up for you with undying love every single day anyway: your pet!

I'm Nivedita, a doctor, a pet mom, and a self-taught artist, and I think your pet friendship deserves better.

Your pet has never asked for a celebration - but they deserve one.

This Friendship Day weekend, I want to help you give your pet the everlasting gift they have earned, painted by your own two hands.

Why Pet Canvas Club?

One day, I painted my dog Izzy - I just wanted to see her on a canvas. When I finished painting, something unexpected happened: looking at her eyes staring back at me made me happier than I'd been in weeks!

I decided I wanted other pet parents to feel that too. So I started teaching complete beginners how to do just that.

I'm a self-taught artist and I've exhibited across India and in Rome. If you like art galleries, you may have seen my art in Jawahar Kala Kendra (Jaipur), Chitrakala Parishath (Bengaluru) or Rangoli Art Center (Bengaluru).

You'll go home with a portrait of your pet, painted by you

You'll spend three hours with a paintbrush in your hand, watching your pet's face come together stroke by stroke, probably smiling without noticing it.

By the time you leave, you'll be holding a 10x12 inch canvas with your furbaby's face on it with your signature in the corner.

Its not just something you'll make, it's something you'll make for them and every visitor will see that.

One of the attendees who painted their cat last time went home to a family convinced a professional had done it.

"Mine's going to look like a five-year-old did it"

You're thinking that right now. Everybody does.

It won't happen, and not because I believe that you're secretly talented.

Before Saturday, you send me a photo of your pet. I hand-sketch them onto your canvas myself: the proportions, the tilt of the head, where the eyes sit, all of it.

By the time you take your seat, the hardest part of painting is already finished, and you're working inside lines that are already correct.

Then there's the paint. Acrylic dries in about two minutes, which means you can take your freshly painted potrait home without worrying about the eyes and the nose smudging over.

Nobody at the table has ever held a brush. All of them made the same call you're making - clearing a Saturday for their pet. Chances are, you will be swapping pet stories before the first brushstroke.

What Saturday afternoon actually looks like

3:00 - You arrive, get a coffee, settle in. We go around the table and everybody talks about their pet, the cute things they do, what makes you laugh about them.

3:15 - Then a few warm-up strokes on a practice sheet, just so you become friends with your paintbrush.

3:30 - We start with the eyes. Once those are in, the rest follows: the face, the fur and then the background.

Somewhere between the eyes and the fur, the fear of "I can't paint" just disappears. I've watched it happen at the last workshop, on every face at that table.

It's also three hours where nobody needs anything from you and your phone stays in your bag.

6:00. You sign your name in the bottom corner. I love that bit. Up until then you're somebody attending a workshop, and after it you're the artist who painted that.

Ten seats only, so I get to every canvas. :)

Other pet parents have already done this

"I didn't know I could paint this well. My own family assumed a professional had done it for me."

Lalithaa Devi, Cat parent

"My dog passed away a couple of years ago. My only hope walking in was that she would have loved this. When I saw the finished portrait, I think she would have approved."

Amit W., Dog parent

"This was a wonderful experience, I did not know I could paint like this!"

Harsha Patil, Cat parent

Every canvas from that afternoon is on Instagram at @herfurbaby. Go and look at what people with no experience walked out holding.

What ₹1,799 covers

• A canvas with your pet hand-sketched by me, before you arrive.
• Brushes, canvas, acrylic paint, palette, and a bag to carry your painting home in.
• Three hours of good conversations, guided painting and awesome pictures.
• ₹500 food cover at the cafe, to sip on great coffee and eat yummy healthy food while you paint.
• Your finished painting, signed by you.

A commissioned pet portrait from a Bengaluru artist starts at around ₹2,500 to ₹15,000, and somebody else who doesn't know your pet paints it.

But on saturday, for just ₹1799 (which includes a ₹500 food and beverage coupon), you get to have a weekend painting session with other pet parents just like you.

This is going to be more fun than you think. In our last event, people were surprised to realise that the three hours they spent painting their pet simply flew away!

And let me fill you in on a secret I've discovered doing this - pet parents are literally the best kind of humans in the world to hang out with.

Why only ten seats?

Ten is how many canvases can get my complete attention in three hours.

Every canvas is hand-sketched by me for one specific pet. I'll be right with you, guiding you at every step of the painting process.

And ten is the sweet spot for personal attention, camaraderie and group photos!

Two things for you to do

Book your seat below. Spots go on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Send me one photo of your furbaby on Instagram at @herfurbaby. Front-facing and close to the face works best, because that's what makes the eyes come out right.

Haven't picked a photo yet? Book anyway and message me, we'll choose one together.

Why you should definitely come

You have thousands of photos of them on your phone and you look at maybe six. This is the one you'll walk past every day at your home.

⏰Saturday, 1st August, 3 to 6 PM

📍The Pet People Cafe

19th Main Road, Sector 4, HSR Layout.

Bangalore

I'd love to see you there.

P.S. You'll walk out holding a portrait you painted yourself, of the friend who has never once asked you for anything.

Questions? DM @herfurbaby on Instagram, I answer quickly because I'm chronically online!

I'm also on WhatsApp - +91 7795688077