Windows to the Soul

I recently lost one of my adopted furry friends (I "adopt" them when I paint them).  It is a hazard of my trade and one I never adjust to. Painting pet portraits has many rewards. As an avid animal lover I get to interact with a myriad of dogs and cats. I feel privileged to inhale their canine perfume and stroke the soft down of their feline fur. I am blessed to be able to enjoy their quirks of personality. But most of all I get to gaze deep into their trusting eyes and study the marvel of the light and color that swirls inside their miraculous and revealing orbs. 

The eyes are both the most important and my favorite feature to paint. We have all heard that the soul resides here and I will not counter that. Yet it is beyond even the soul...the life...the personality...the emotions of the moment...the compassion from within...the fire that lights us. Well maybe that is the definition of soul. All I know is the eyes are everything. 

During the painting process I spend a great deal of intimate time examining, decoding, admiring, and portraying their many attributes. I study and look closely. I respond emotionally to the color of the paint, the action of my brush, the value of the light or the rhythm of the stroke. At the risk of sounding too esoteric, I find myself communing with the creature on a level that is unique and difficult to describe. I have a wordless conversation with them.

Because the act of painting is so intimate, for me there is an unusual bond formed during the process. This happens not only with pets, but people as well. Several years back I offered to paint a portrait of a friend's husband. She had recently and all too suddenly lost him to cancer at the same time I was also losing my father to leukemia. You can imagine the emotions. 

Nearing the end of the process I still had work to do with the eyes. Because the eyes are fluid they are reflective. Because they are round and hooded the shadows and strokes must show form. The eyes are where it all comes together.  I was "pushing the paint around", as I sometimes say to myself, and all of a sudden I felt the glimmer of him coming through. I focused more intently...every little dab or stroke in this small area has great impact. Then the moment arrived! Quite suddenly there was Brad looking straight me with his famous sense of humor brimming forth. An emotional force hit me that took me down to the ground. I found myself sitting against the wall sobbing, feeling the injustice of a life cut too short, of the people left to mourn, the things left undone. I figured at this point I must have gotten his eyes right.

Several times in the nearly 20 years I have been painting pets the animal has passed while the canvas of them is still wet upon my easel. And because their lifespans are not like ours I have also lost many after their portraits have hung on their owner's walls. In fact I have return clients contacting me with portrait requests of their newest generation of furry friend. As I mentioned before…it is a hazard of the trade, difficult yes, but one I would not trade for the world. It is a privilege and an honor to memorialize this bond of love and devotion between pets and their people. And I continue to work on the eyes...there is always room for improvement!