bella the beautiful

Bella - Lifejacket Dog 16x16"

I just finished the 3rd painting of Bella, a gorgeous border collie girl with one blue and one brown eye. Her owners commissioned me to do a painting of her shortly before she passed away in November. I did get a chance to meet her, you could tell she was a gentle soul. She was 14 years old and was very much a beloved member of the family. They gave me a whole bunch of photos from when she was younger and healthy but couldn't decide on which one to get as a painting. In the end, they had 3 favourites so just decided to get all 3 painted.

How hard it is to lose our furry family members. It just shatters our hearts, and there is just as much grief as if they were people. I was told that the process of having the portraits done of Bella was way better than grief counseling. I could see that - having the paintings done could give them something to look forward to, in the midst of a very hard time. I know I will be devasted when I lose my Lucy, and I can see myself doing more paintings of her then (although I'm doing lots now too) ...

Here are the other two paintings I did of Bella over the past few months.

Bella - Greasy Eye 18x24"

(This was a typical pose of Bella, just hanging out in the house, watching what was going on)

Bella - Crate Dog 12x24"

(when she was just a puppy, hanging out on top of her crate just waiting to be noticed!)