Perm Locksmith Quits Factory to Paint Pet Portraits, Now Earns Like Multiple Repairmen

The hero of this story was a village locksmith, but decided to leave everything and became an artist. Kirill Butym has no formal education, but he paints realistic portraits of pets. This way, he earns several times his «locksmith» salary. The artist talks about his works in his blog, from where most clients come — Kirill«s videos »take off« in reels. But before becoming an entrepreneur and finally doing what he loves, the artist had a hard time. We tell an inspiring story — after it, everything will seem possible.

We learned about the artist thanks to Instagram* algorithms — his video about love for Perm gained 167,000 views and appeared in our journalist«s feed. In the video, the guy tells how he came to the regional center from a village and swapped locksmith tools for a brush and paints. Most of the videos look like this: Kirill sits at the easel, looks at his phone, and transfers its content to the screen — this is a message where a client asks to paint their pet. Often — a deceased one. Perhaps, you»ve come across these videos too.

“Got Angry at Himself”

Kirill is 26 years old, from the small village of Krasnoyar in the Kuedinsky District (Perm Krai region).

Starting from age eight, Kirill spent most of his free time drawing. In ninth grade, the guy started an Instagram account, published his works there, often portraits of people. Once, he painted a portrait of blogger Dima Gordeу, and he posted the picture of the boy from Krasnoyar on his page. Kirill was shocked. At the same time, the first orders appeared, but the guy refused potential clients — he didn«t want to draw for money. His goal was to learn to draw so well that it would be hard to distinguish from a photo.

After ninth grade, Kirill tried to enroll in the fine arts program at the Chaikovsky Music College, but couldn«t »outcompete« the guys who studied in specialized schools.

“I was upset, thought that drawing wasn«t for me. Got angry at myself, disappointed, and went to study at the Kuedinsky College to become an agricultural mechanizer,” the artist tells 59.RU.

At the same time, Kirill trained as a welder — his grandfather taught him this craft when he was 14. Adult life was beginning, hanging out with friends… So, in the last year of college, Kirill sat down at the canvas once a week just to not forget the skill. At that moment, he thought he would never become an artist.

After college, Kirill served in the army, then returned to Krasnoyar and took up welding — he worked at a local enterprise for a year and a half. During this time, he didn«t touch a brush.

“I Realized There Was Nothing for Me in the Village and Decided to Leave”

“At some point, I got tired of it all — I realized there was nothing for me in the village and one day decided to leave. I called my army friend from Perm and he took me in. Two days later, I found a job,” Kirill recalled.

At his first job in the big city, Kirill was cheated — they paid him 2,000 rubles (about $20 at current rates) for two weeks. At the next place, for welding outdoor exercise equipment, they paid properly for two weeks, but asked him to quit. What was wrong, Kirill still doesn«t understand — he thinks he fit into the friendly team, was punctual, worked overtime and did well.

From there, the guy moved to the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex, the salary there wasn«t satisfactory, but the social package and the 3/3 schedule were attractive. For Kirill, it was important to just have enough money for rent. After seven months, the welder»s salary started to be cut — one day, instead of 60,000 rubles (about $600 at current rates), 16,000 came. The future artist wrote a resignation letter without hesitation.

“I came to realize this running from one employer to another. I understood that I needed to develop, learn new things, and I never read books — even in school. I started reading self-development literature, took up sports.”

There was an episode in Kirill«s life when he bought a course on trading on marketplaces and started selling metal sponges there. The course cost 53,000 rubles (about $530 at current rates), he had to take a loan, and the goods didn»t sell very well — so Kirill accumulated 200,000 rubles (about $2,000 at current rates) in debt.

All this time, Kirill was supported by his girlfriend Valeria — the man says he wouldn«t have managed without her. Kirill tried to pay off the debts by getting a job as a welder at a large construction company. Kirill liked the work, but another turning point came — paintings by a girl who sold them, in his opinion, for high prices, started appearing on Instagram.

Lots of Criticism, Few Orders

Kirill returned to drawing, doing it in the evenings and on weekends. First, he painted with acrylic everything he saw, then painted portraits of people. The artist started publishing his works in his profile again, looking for clients. Several first commissioned paintings sized 60x60 centimeters, Kirill prepared for a review. It was important for potential clients to see responses and trust him.

“I liked being a welder, but I still wanted… I had already set a goal — to link my life with creativity. For a whole year, I ran a blog, but there were few views, comments, and lots of criticism — there were no orders at all.”

At that time, Kirill came across a post by an artist whose paintings previously seemed very expensive to him. In spring 2023, she launched a course on promoting creative people, which Kirill bought on credit for 60,000 rubles (about $600 at current rates). The training showed how to run a blog, convey the value of paintings, how to sell properly, set prices…

Kirill changed his blog according to the recommendations, but orders didn«t come immediately, so he decided to try another way of attracting — drawing people»s pets on one canvas for subscriptions. He showed the process in videos. He started in August and finished in October — about 30 cats fit in. He held an auction for this painting. In the end, the work was bought for 13,500 rubles (about $135 at current rates). He sent half of the amount to a cat shelter.

“By that time, over four thousand people had subscribed to me. Can you imagine, 4000 cats to draw? People were waiting, and I, roughly speaking, only drew 30 cats. Hate started, that I was a fraud. I burned out and thought: «Maybe try on small canvases 20x20?»,” the artist reasoned. “And I started writing to those who wanted it for free, offering a personal painting for the minimum — 1,900 rubles (about $19 at current rates). They sent me the first money — I was totally shocked and wrote to everyone who was interested.”

The first order was a portrait of a sphinx with blue eyes on an orange background.

Soon, Kirill started receiving from four to seven orders almost daily. The artist-locksmith couldn«t physically take everything, but despite this, in October he earned 198,000 rubles (about $1,980 at current rates) compared to 60,000 at the factory. This amount came because at that time he took 100% prepayment, and there were already orders for large paintings.

“I was ordered three paintings sized 50x60 centimeters and paid immediately. It turned out, in one day I earned 53,000 rubles (about $530 at current rates) — I just cried then.”

“I Came Home and Immediately Started Drawing”

Understanding that it«s really possible to earn good money doing what he loves, Kirill decided to quit. Over 50 days, in autumn 2024, he launched a video challenge on Instagram, counting down the days until resignation, talking about himself, work at the factory, and drawing. He needed to save 195,000 rubles (about $1,950 at current rates) — this amount for mandatory payments for three months. But he managed to save 90,000 less.

At the factory, they didn«t understand what happened — everything was fine. To questions, Kirill answered that for such decisions, something doesn»t necessarily have to happen.

“I worked my last shift and went home, got off at Goznak and cried all the way home. Just because I succeeded. That I«m not leaving for nothing — I already have work for two months,” Kirill admits to 59.RU. “I came home and immediately started drawing. I enjoy it. And I also enjoy when I get paid for it. There»s nothing to hide here.”

Kirill filled his order plan until New Year, briefly visited his native Krasnoyar, and upon return, engaged in organizing his business — he changed his sole proprietorship to artist services, hired an accountant, together they created an online cash register.

“Earnings Grow Every Month, My Girlfriend Quit”

Kirill partly explains his success by the chosen theme. Pets, in his opinion, are a trigger topic because many people have them. Especially, viewers are touched by videos where the artist shows a request from a client, which says that a portrait of a deceased animal is needed.

The first 10,000 subscribers «came» in spring 2024 — by then, videos with pet drawings already existed. Now, Kirill has over 24,000 subscribers. Along with their number, the prices for paintings grow. Here«s the dynamic of price increases for a work on a 20x20 centimeter canvas: 1,900 rubles, 2,400, 4,300 rubles — in early 2024, this spring Kirill raised the price to 6,600 rubles, then to 8,800. From 1 December 2025, the work costs 12,000 rubles (about $120 at current rates).

“When I raised prices, I thought no one would order. And a week later, you earned even more. I reached not just a stable income — it grows every month. Valeria quit — she also wasn«t doing well at work. She pays for it with her support and belief in me. Without her, nothing would have worked out.”

Per month, Kirill spends about 20,000 rubles (about $200 at current rates) on paints and brushes, canvases also cost a lot. For example, one sized 20x20 — 600 rubles (about $6 at current rates).

Kirill says there are those who consider 1,900 rubles a lot of money, and at the same time, there are clients who pay above the set price. For example, a girl who paid 20,000 instead of 15,000 for a portrait of two cats. She explained her act with gratitude.

There have been unpleasant moments too. A portrait of a dog, which a woman ordered for her husband«s birthday, Kirill started painting later than planned, and when it came to sending the painting, he found out it wouldn»t arrive in time for the holiday, and returned half the cost. Nevertheless, the painting arrived on time. After a few days, they agreed with the client that she would return the money.

Another client had to have a second painting drawn for free, as the first was painted on a low-quality canvas — in one place, after drying, the paint started cracking.

Incidentally, all of Kirill«s clients are from other cities in Russia. A woman from Perm once ordered a portrait of her pet, but at that moment, she was living in another country.

Orders Booked 8 Months Ahead

In August, two of Kirill«s videos were watched by 500,000 people each. After that, 15 applications for paintings came. Now, they don»t write every day — Kirill links this to the price increase. Nevertheless, there are many orders — the artist«s queue is until 26 July. Only after this date can the artist start new orders. Now, for a painting up to 40x50 centimeters, Kirill takes one to two days.

*Instagram is owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.