Nine-year-old Pavel Abramov lives in the small city of Arzamas in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. A lifelong animal lover, he began sketching and painting dogs and cats at a very young age.
About a year ago, Pavel lost his own fur-friend. He also began to notice the large number of strays in his area.
Pavel’s heart ached for them, and he knew he had to do something.
He decided to put his passion for art to good use. Pavel began painting custom pet portraits for local animal lovers.
Rather than charging money, he asks his customers to contribute pet food and supplies. He calls his mission “Kind Paintbrush.”
The food, litter, collars, leashes, and medication he collects go directly to the one and only shelter in his hometown and the 100+ dogs in their care.
This lovely portrait of a dog named Chuck was made in exchange for 5 kg. of buckwheat (used as cat litter), 10 cans of dog food, and some skin medication.
Grumpy kitty Ksyusha’s portrait brought in 6 kg. of buckwheat, canned dog food, bandages, and medicine for the shelter.
Pavel painted long-haired Chihuahua Onyx in exchange for 3 kg. of canned dog food, 2.5 kg. of oatmeal, 4 kg. of pearl barley, dog treats, and cleaning supplies.
The owner of this fur trio gave Pavel 15 kg. of delicious beef trimmings to brighten the shelter dogs’ day. How cute is their little portrait?!
Pavel even paints the occasional Guinea pig. It’s all for a great cause!
Word has spread of Pavel’s extraordinary talent and selfless generosity. Animal lovers from all over Russia have contacted him to paint their pets’ portraits.
He even has customers in Spain and Germany!
Believe it or not, Pavel creates his life-like portraits without ever meeting the animals in person. He works from a photograph, but knows each animal by name and loves to hear their rescue stories.
He looks forward to meeting each of his “models” once the work is finished.
Pavel and his mother, Ekaterina Bolshakova also spend time volunteering at the shelter. Ekaterina documents their experiences as well as Pavel’s art on the Russian social media site, VK.com.
The title of their page translates to “What Can A Little Volunteer Do?” As Pavel has proven, even a child can make a world of difference if their heart is in the right place.
“Our family is proud of his wonderful project,” Pavel’s mother Ekaterina told Bored Panda. “His days are scheduled to minutes, he wants to do absolutely everything, there is just not enough time.”
As author and canine psychologist Karen Davison wrote, “Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever.”
Pavel’s talent and tireless work ethic is definitely changing the world for the dogs of Arzamas!
You can follow Pavel’s inspirational story on his VK page and see more of his gorgeous artwork on Instagram.
H/T: Bored Panda
Featured Images: VK.com/What Can A Little Volunteer Do?
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