October 22, 2008
Memorial Portrait of Sassy, Boxer Dog
Mary Horning of Pittsburgh commissioned this watercolor/colored pencil portrait of the Hornings’ late Boxer, Sassy, as an anniversary gift for her husband. Because Mary lives nearby, we met in person a few times instead of the usual emailed approval scans I send to distant customers.
On our first visit, Mary mentioned that she had commissioned portraits of her pets before from other artists, one she had been very happy with, but another was a disappointment: the pet’s likeness wasn’t convincing and the spark of life just wasn’t there. Gulp! The pressure was on!
What a relief to see in Mary’s eyes that I had captured Sassy’s likeness and expression when I delivered the portrait. She warmed my heart later by sending me an actual snail mail note after she gave the portrait to her husband:
Sue,
I want to express how much we love the painting you did of Sassy. The painting is life-like! You have a special talent. You did such a perfet job in capturing her personality as well as the personality of the Boxer breed. We truly have the most precious memory of our girl now.
It was a joy working with you and I’d like to thank you for your hard work and kindness. It was money well-spent. Please consider me a forever client.
Mary Horning
Such nice feedback really keeps me going! Thank you, Mary!
Beautiful composition!
Comment by Flickr: essenceforart — October 27, 2008 @ 2:36 am