My second commissioned painting of Kelly.

My last post was about the commissioned painting I did for my co-worker of her rescued Collie, Kelly.
Sadly this last 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 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.

COLLIE PAINTING

A while back, one of my friends/co-worker commissioned a painting of her Collie, "Kelly" from me.
Kelly was a rescue dog she had adopted who had a lot of medical issues.
One of the problems was that her blood didn't clot properly and she had chronic nosebleeds. 
Kelly had many medical emergencies and was rushed to the University Hospital several times.
Thousands of dollars were spent trying to make her well.
M co-worker sent me many photos and told me that I could paint it however I wished.
The only requests were for me to include starfish and to tell the "Starfish Story".
She also preferred a more pastel color.
This is the photo that she said was her favorite:

And this is the final painting.

Kelly's "Mom" was so happy that she cried.
I always worry that I won't be able to achieve what they might be envisioning.

Sadly, Kelly had to be rushed to the University when she suddenly could not walk.
It was discovered that she had a blood clot in her leg. 
They were running various tests and her "Mom" was struggling with the decision on whether or not to approve the removal of the leg if need be, to save her life.
When another blood clot to her heart, took her life.
Heartbreaking news...thankfully she had a loving home in the final months of her life.