Sweet Rufus was a local German Wire Hair Pointer dog who sadly has passed away, and his mom contacted me to have a Pet Portrait painted of him for their home. One of the realities of being Pet Portrait artist is that a large portion of orders are in fact memorial pieces :(. It’s always an emotional experience for clients and myself to work on paintings of past pets, but I’m always so honoured when folks select me to be a part of such a sentimental and meaningful memento!
Rufus was a big part of the family at a local dog training school (called Sit Happens!), and his loss effected everyone who worked there and all who knew him, and understandably so most of all the owner – Rufus’ mom, and her husband. We met last year, and she had me paint a portrait of Jamie the adorable silver lab (her sister’s pup) for Christmas. And Jamie is the one who’s adorable belly is showing in this playful shot with Rufus:
50/50 split pic of Rufus (with Jamie) – top: reference photo / bottom: finished painting
I really love the photo of Rufus they selected to have painted for this piece. It’s so full of life – it radiates happiness & playfulness. I’m so happy to have been able to paint it for them. To view a full finished photo of Rufus’ painting, it is viewable in my Pet Portrait portfolio gallery.
PS – I received the sweetest note from Rufus’ mom that I just had to share *blush face & teary eyes*:
“My sister took this picture a couple of years ago and it captured Rufus’ spirit exactly. Robyn’s version did one better! It actually feels like you could reach out and touch him! Thank you so much for creating a great work of art out of our most favorite dog!”
Thanks so much Jill for your sweet note, and for all of your support! I am super grateful.
