That's our story & who we are
This is the story of how our lives were transformed with the arrival of our little dog Pedro, and how My Pet Canvas was born from that change.
Let me introduce myself...
My name is Matteo Di Palma, and I'm the CEO of My Pet Canvas. In the photo there is me and my girlfriend, Viviana, pampering Pedro. We both actively work on creating artistic portraits on My Pet Canvas.
We are an Italian family who...
Five years ago, were gifted Pedro, a tiny Chihuahua with only a few months to his name.
The decision to welcome Pedro into our home came after a particularly challenging period in our lives. My father was initially skeptical about having a dog; as children, despite our longing, my sister and I never had the chance to own one.
He only reconsidered after we faced a harrowing time. In 2017, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she fought bravely to stay with us for a year. Thankfully, she won that battle and is still with us today.
However, the struggle wasn't over. Following her victory against cancer, she fell into a severe depression, and we couldn't be with her every day.
That's when we thought of bringing a little dog into our home...
And my father, though not entirely convinced at first, agreed for my mother's sake.
The result? It was the best decision of our lives. Pedro brought joy back into our home.
He helped my mother defeat her depression, and my father grew to love him as a son, to the point where he now cannot bear to be apart from Pedro for a moment.
Our boundless love for Pedro led us to photograph him often...
Capturing every moment of his life. My mother still sends pictures of Pedro to our family WhatsApp group, and I, initially for fun, began creating portraits of Pedro from these photos.
At first, I made humorous portraits, turning Pedro into a cartoon character, dressed as a marshal, a sergeant, and the like, sharing them with the family for a laugh.
I subsequently started creating more artistic portraits of Pedro.
Then, my mother decided to print one of these portraits on canvas...
Her friends saw it, wanted the same for their pets, and that's how My Pet Canvas came into being.
From purely amusing portraits, we evolved into creating artistic depictions of pets, turning it into a business.
Today, we have two printing centers, one in the United States and one in Europe, and a team of 10 artists who create digital masterpieces every day.
I hope you've enjoyed our story. For us, it's the story of how a little rascal completely changed our lives, and we can never thank him enough for that.