Our Beloved Pets
Isn’t it amazing how quickly we fall in love with our pets? Our furry friends are such an important part of our lives. It’s awesome how they anxiously await our coming home for the day, and greet us with what seems to be a huge smile on their faces. Or how they love to jump in our lap just when you sit down in your favorite chair. Our pets love to be close to us and have our attention. They truly become part of our family.
I’ve always loved to take photos and taking photos of our pets has been a delight. Some of those were taken with cameras that didn’t take quality photos, but they are still great reminders of memories with those beloved pets. Like photos of each of our boys with their first dogs, priceless. I have quite of few photos of our cats, Rascal and Duchess. We adopted these two when we moved to the country. We decided to get a cat to help with the unwanted pests in the country. We found someone giving away kittens and decided to go pick one out. Our youngest son chose one and named her Rascal (whom we thought was a male, but later found out was a female), and our other son fell in love with a kitten because of her beautiful blue eyes, which was already named Duchess by the owner. So, we brought two kittens home, instead of one, and they entertained us for years to come. Rascal was greatly known for exterminating many unwanted pests. She was a great hunter and was always on a mission. She was very loveable as well. One of her favorite things was to wait for my husband, Stuart, to arrive home from work and go to meet him at his truck when he came home. I had never seen a cat do that before. Duchess was an occasional hunter but her main task was to try to become a house cat. She thought she was royalty and lived up to her name. Later on, when we moved to town, she won and became a house cat. Duchess lived for 20 years; now that’s a long time! I cherish all the memories with our sons’ pets.
After both of the dogs had passed, we decided to get another one. A friend of mine had a litter of puppies and asked if we would take one. I named him Jake and he stole our hearts immediately. My husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed him over the years. He’s been my walking partner for many years and he still looks forward to them each day. He’s also stolen the hearts of many people in our neighborhood; he’s just that charming. Jake loves kids and has been so good with our grandson, Hudson, and they are great buddies. Jake is thirteen now and is beginning to show his age, but he still is a delight. One other thing, he loves coffee! Seriously, he drinks part of my coffee every chance he gets!
As an artist, I decided to create a portrait a few years ago of our cat, Duchess, from a photo I took of her with my first digital camera. I chose a blue suede mat board because her favorite color was blue. She was always looking for a blanket to lay on and if she had a choice, she would choose the blue one, every time. The blue mat board also helped accentuate her beautiful blue eyes and made her fur look so soft. I was well pleased with how it turned out. A great tribute to her, now hanging in my studio.
Just a few months ago, I decided to do a portrait of Jake. I chose a favorite photo I had taken of him because I loved the way he was looking at me with a big smile on his face. He was probably 5-6 years old in this photo. I chose suede mat board again for my surface. This surface renders pets beautifully because of the realistic look it gives the fur. I think the portrait captured his personality well, and my husband seconded that opinion. He loves it and said that looks like him in every way. On both of these portraits I used colored pencils as the medium. I just loved being able to get such detail in my colored pencils! I’m anxious to get Jake’s portrait framed and on my wall in the studio.
I’m so glad I did these. I don’t have great photos of our other pets that give enough detail for me to paint them, but I still have lots of memories.
I’m sure you have awesome memories of your beloved pets as well. If you would desire to have a portrait of one of your favorite pets, I would love to help you with creating a cherished piece of art you would cherish for years to come. For more information about pricing and details please go to: https://www.kimkeysart.com/new-page-1.
