By Nicole Krebs

For the Times

Alex Rea-Kodatt is the operations manager at the Green County Humane Society and a lover of art. She has done both drawing and painting throughout her life and enjoys painting pets the most.

“I mostly do pet portraits. I do some abstract, and sometimes I just kind of do whatever I’m thinking in my head and make something, but I’d say a lot of times, I do a lot of pet portraits for people,” she said.

Rea-Kodatt has been interested in art since she was a teenager, and that interest only grew as she continued to explore it throughout college.

“I originally was drawing in high school, and in college, I minored in art, so I went ahead and did some painting as well and tried it out through my different classes. I really fell in love with it and just never really stopped, honestly. I kept doing it,” she said. “I started drawing in high school, but as for painting, I’ve really been doing that since college, and that would be somewhere between ten and twelve years now.”

A favorite art piece of hers is one she made of a dog she fostered that unfortunately was unable to be adopted before passing away. She enjoys painting those that aren’t able to be adopted in order to remember them.

“I have one that I made for a dog. I work at an animal shelter, and I’ve worked at a couple before, and unfortunately, not everyone becomes adoptable. I foster, and I’ve had fosters that have not been able to be adopted, so I really find passion in painting them as a remembrance piece,” Rea-Kodatt said. “So, I have one of a dog that I lost, and that I really enjoy. It’s one of my biggest pieces I’ve made, and I made her really rainbow and colorful, that way I could remember her, so that’s my favorite one.”

Her main inspiration for art is animals. Not only the animals she works with, but any animal she might come across.

“Since I do a lot of pet portraits and work with animals, I find a lot of inspiration in them and, like I said, making pieces of the dog or cats that really stick with me. I painted a couple of my friends’ animals when they’ve lost animals as well. I really enjoy making something that people can really fall in love with and get to remember their pets by,” she said.

Alex Rea-Kodatt’s love for animals and art has melded into something she’s truly proud of and happy with. She gets a lot of joy from sharing her love for animals through both her work and her creativity. She also stated that if anyone would like a pet portrait done, or if they just want to check out her work, they can see it on Etsy or Facebook at Splitz Persona.