Meet Max

Max's mom found me at the Gold Coast art fair back in June, 2018. She told me that she had been looking for someone to paint her pit bull rescue dog for three years. It was just a fluke that she had happened to come to the Gold Coast art fair that hot weekend in June. When she stumbled onto my booth and saw all the dog portraits, she knew then and there that I was the one she wanted to have do Max's portrait.

She sort of surprised me though when she said that she did not want to see any pictures throughout the portrait process and that she wanted to be completely surprised at the end. I was a little bit nervous about doing this but I went ahead and granted her wishes.

I worked away on Max's portrait and after a few weeks from when I started, he was done. I sent Max's mom a message asking her if she was ready for the big reveal. She told me she had originally wanted to wait but she had had a rough week, so maybe this would help lift her spirits.So I went ahead and texted her the image of Max. 

Minutes went by that felt like an eternity for me as I was wondering whether or not she liked what she saw. My heart was pounding in hopes that she liked it but what if she didn't? After about 10 minutes my phone began to ring. 

It was Max's mom! I asked her," Do you like it? Do you hate it? What do you think?" Her reply made my heart sing! Max's mom told me that as soon as she saw the portrait of Max, she began to cry! 

She told me that I captured him beautifully, especially his eyes! She told me she couldn't have been happier with the portrait and she was so excited to see it . She said she had had a rough week and this totally made her weekend! We both began crying together on the phone! Mostly tears of joy and maybe a few tears of relief for me! 

This! This is why I like to do custom dog portraits! It brings me so much joy to know that something I love to do has so much meaning to others!  Witnessing first had, that it stirs up enough emotions to bring a person to tears, is quite powerful for me. 

Max was a rescue dog and his mom told me that before she adopted him he was rescued from a place that kept him in a kennel 22 hours a day. That was so hard to believe for me considering how beautiful he looked in the photo that his mom sent me. 

Dogs are a gift. Max was lucky to have found someone like his mom to adopt him who knows as such. 

 Do you have a dog that you love so much, it's impossible to measure how much?  If you felt all the feels from reading this, maybe you did so because you know exactly where Max's mom was coming from.  She told me, she felt crazy for loving him so much, but she just can't help it!  They have a bond.  An unbreakable bond where no words exist to describe how special it is when you find it.   

 I hope you will consider having me do a portrait of your special friend, some day.  I don't know exactly why it is, but having one done, is a beautiful thing, that can move you emotionally, maybe because seeing your dog in such a way visually describes the way they make you feel about them.

  Having a portrait done, is an emotionally moving experience with a lasting token that represents someone you love so, so much.