A LOCAL artist who's work you can find at Gunnersbury market has sent the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a pet portrait of their recently deceased dog, Lupo.

Rob Ballentine from Hampshire shares a stall with his wife at Gunnersbury market every second weekend.

He sells his art and she sells her sustainable scented candles, as part of her business, Willow & Tea .

Ballentine was sad to hear that the Royals lost their dog, Lupo recently, after having him for the past nine years.

He told Nub News: "As someone who's lost a dog in the past, I feel for them, it's very tough."

That's when he decided to put his expertise to good use and send them a gift.

Ballentine used to run his own business, teaching people how to be mentally fit, as he described it.

Since the coronavirus pandemic however, he's had to shift his focus and has reignited his passion for art, which is what he enjoyed doing as a kid.

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He said: "One of my wife's friends asked me if I could draw a portrait of their dog that had recently passed.

"I'd never really done pet portraits before but I gave it a go and he really liked it.

"He ended up posting it on social media and I started getting messages from people to draw their pets.

"That's when in May someone offered to pay for my work and I ended up starting my new business, Rob Ballentine Art."

Ballentine's business has really taken off, as he's fully booked until the start of next year.

He said: "There's something unique and personal in having your pet drawn for you and people seem to really like it.

"I want my work to help people remember all the good memories they had with their pets.

"That's what I wanted to do for William and Kate too, it was clear they were very upset when Lupo died."

Although Ballentine sent off the gift to the Palace, it wasn't accepted due to security protocols.

He is now working on alternative means in order to get the portrait to the Cambridges, by going directly to the source.

"I'm trying to use connections and get in contact with them directly, hopefully it works," he added.