FINALLY...I've finished the Painting

A co-worker/friend commissioned a painting from me of her rescued collie, Kelly.
I did a post about it HERE.

Then this May, Kelly had to be rushed to the University when she suddenly could not walk.
It was all very unexpected.
Once there, it was discovered that she had a blood clot in her leg. 
My friend was constantly on the phone, conferring back and forth with the Veterinarian.
They were running various tests and Kelly's "Mom" was struggling with the decision on whether or not to approve the removal of the leg, if that was what would be needed to be done in order to save her life.
She was torn between all that Kelly had already been through and whether or not to do the surgery.
If she approved it, she wanted to do it for the right reason.
To make Kelly happy and healthy and not to make her suffer because she could not bear the thought of losing her.
She was agonizing over this decision as the hospital tried to stabilize Kelly and bring her to a point where she would be able to handle such an amputation.
During this frantic time, another blood clot to her heart, took her life.
Startling and heartbreaking news.
Everyone was devastated and the veterinarian was in tears when my friend's husband made the trip to go get Kelly and bring her home to her final resting place.
Kelly had touched the heart of all those who had tried to help her.
Thankfully she had a loving home in the final months of her life, a home where she was with other dogs to run on an acreage and to know true love.
My friend commissioned another painting of Kelly from me.
At first she wanted something exactly like the first painting, to give it as a "gift" to the veterinarian.
I told her that I wasn't sure if I could reproduce it and then after talking, we decided on a different pose but still the same Starfish story.
I wanted to do this one also as a Mixed Media and I asked if I could include a rainbow in the painting to represent the Rainbow Bridge.
My friend liked that idea.
For some reason, I had a difficult time with this painting, I just could not seem to get it "right".

Finally I have finished it.

My friend was very happy with it and my other co-workers liked it a lot.
I'm glad.
Of course, being me. I'm very critical of it but if she's happy, I'm happy.

Finished the commissioned Collie Painting!

This one took me a while to do.

The client said to do whatever I wanted.

She just wanted her Collie painted.

She thought maybe just the head and shoulders.

She emailed me a lot of photos and this one was marked her favorite:

She said, maybe a pastel color for a background?

and the "starfish" story written on it.

and maybe a starfish painted on it too.

She knows her dog very well, all of her distinct markings.

So I knew I had to get it right.

Her Collie, Kelly is a rescue. My "client" actually works with me at the vet clinic.

Kelly was brought into the clinic from the Humane Society. Someone had left her there and it soon became very obvious that she had some major medical issues.

She was having a lot of nose bleeding and the blood wouldn't clot.

She's had some other medical problems too.

It's a very long story but Lisa (my client) adopted her and has taken her to the State University for various tests and she's been in contact with several vets all over the country.

She has actually spent several thousands of dollars on Kelly and...

she doesn't care. All she cares about is getting Kelly well.

And Kelly is doing better.

She's on meds and her nosebleeds are not as frequent.

Some people have shaken their heads over the fact that Lisa took this all on and

Lisa doesn't care. All she cares about is Kelly and that's why she loves the starfish story.

SO... I didn't show her any progress on the painting.

It was a complete surprise.

I took it to work and she covered her eyes and when she saw it,

she started crying.

Yep, she loved it.

 I was so happy and relieved.

But she was very happy.

and so I am too!