“Coco” for Luis

In some ways, having back problem is awesome. It means I get to have more massages than the average person, and when you have a masseuse as awesome as Luis Tellez at Miami Wellness Solutions, trust me you are grateful for the occasional sore back.

Luis lost his beloved greyhound Coco to cancer a couple months ago, and he asked me if I would be interested in doing a portrait of Coco in exchange for a couple massages. Clearly, my answer was yes. Barter is back! (back pun not intended) But seriously, Coco was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL dog, and I was really honored to help preserve her memory.

This portrait of adorable four-year-old Hutson was a Christmas gift from his mommy to his daddy. His mommy also purchased multiple prints of the portrait to give to all the grandparents!

This was my first-ever house portrait! My love of all things nostalgic and sentimental has reached new highs with this one — a portrait of a childhood home.  Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt, Holly – and commissioning this piece from me on pure faith that I could do it!

Logan’s mommy, Whitney, found me on twitter, and has been perhaps my most loyal and encouraging twitter fan from the beginning. I was beyond thrilled when she commissioned me to do a portrait of her beautiful little boy, Logan, as a gift for her husband for their anniversary. The photo the portrait is based on is below — it was snapped on the first outing Logan and his Daddy took together alone.

Whitney writes a super sweet blog that you can read here (thanks for writing about me, Whitney! You are so awesome!) and you can follow her on twitter here.

Lucy

Sarah contacted me a few weeks ago to paint a portrait of her beloved dog, Lucy. Lucy was more than a pet to her owners, she was a part of the family. Sarah’s husband even referred to her as “his first wife”. She lived to be 18, a good long life for a Golden Retriever, but her family sadly had to have her put down last year.

I think Lucy’s eyes are my favorite part of this painting – I tried hard to capture the melancholy sweetness of her gaze. I hope Sarah and her family find some comfort with this painting. I was so happy to help memorialize such a beloved and beautiful member of their family.

This is the photo Sarah sent me of Lucy, which the painting is based on.

  Corinne – age 2

I felt so privileged when I received the commission to paint Corinne, a beautiful 2-year-old little girl who “loves the beach, puzzles and animals”. Corine’s mom saw my portrait of her good friend Maria, and wanted a similar portrait of her little girl.

She sent me a pic of Corinne hugging a tree (see below), but she didn’t love the tree, so I suggested that the tree be removed from the painting in order to focus on Corinne’s lovely face. I think it was a good choice, and am proud of how the painting turned out (and her mom Diana was super happy with the painting – which is what really matters!)