MIDDLEBORO — Kaitlin Sweeney does more than create intricate works of art through her business Color Me K8. The majority of her customers come to her to buy memorial drawings of their pets who have passed away, and the conversations Sweeney has while creating their commissions can help people process their loss, Sweeney said.

"I understand how hard it is," Sweeney said. "I've lost a few of my own family pets and [each is] such a big member of our household. Their presence is really missed when they're gone."

The Middleboro-based artist started focusing on pet portraits after her childhood cat, a 17-year-old black cat named Fritter, passed away.

After that, things "snowballed," Sweeney said. "I ended up doing a couple of my dogs, and just offering it to family and friends.” She now accepts commissions from clients.

"Having something there to remind [people] of all the good times that they had with their pet is really important," she added. The pets in Sweeney’s artwork look as if they might leap off the page at any moment. That’s no accident, she explained. Sweeney spends time with each of her clients discussing the personality of each pet, and that information helps her capture each critter's spirit. 

"People tell me all about the little quirks and personalities that their pets had, and it makes them come alive even more when I'm working on them," she added. 

Those conversations don't just help in creating a realistic drawing, but also can help her clients process their grief around the loss of their pets.

"I believe conversations around the losses we experience can help manage some of the feelings that come along with our grief," said Sweeney.

Sweeney added, "When you miss your pet it can feel [lesser than] to other types of grief … When people look at their pet portraits I want them to remember the good moments, and all the joy their animals bring to them in the short amount of time they have with us."

Most of her work is done with colored pencils, she explained. While she does do oil paintings as well, colored pencil drawings are faster to make, which allows her to price them more affordably. 

In addition to her pet portraits, Sweeney uses her talent for art to help the environment.

Sweeney works with One Tree Planted, a non-profit that plants trees in different countries around the world. She's part of its Tree Ambassador program, a partnership where volunteers like Sweeney help fundraise for and spread awareness of its cause, and has contributed one of her drawings to Art for Trees, an online raffle that will run the week of Christmas. 

"Reforestation is one of the things I feel strongly about," Sweeney said. "It's important to have trees and green areas in our cities."

Sweeney said it's important to support creators, and especially children who create. 

Sweeney's mother was training to be an art teacher when she was growing up and Sweeney credits her own passion for the craft to her mother's inspiration and to the artwork displayed around their home. 

Her work drawing pets was born out of a love of drawing animals as a kid — particularly horses, as their fur texture was "fun to play around with," said Sweeney. 

"I don't think people realize how important it is to support kids creating,” Sweeney said.