I consider it a great honor to paint a pet who has passed away and I welcome the commission. A portrait is a beautiful reminder and tribute as well as a wonderful gift for someone who misses their beloved pet.

I paint beauty; I see beauty in so many forms and places. Places that many would consider ordinary, or even ugly. At times I feel overwhelmed with the subtle beauty of my subjects. Every speck of dirt, blade of grass or rusty can evokes beauty when seen through the artist's eye.

When I am painting my dog portraits I feel the same, but instead of just visually seeing the beauty, I look for where the beauty is in each individual animal. Sometimes it's in the eyes, sometimes its the expression or body language or vulnerability of age. I capture the particular essence of the animal that sets it apart from any other one no matter how identical their outer appearance is to another.

I love to paint many types of subjects; portraits, street scenes, landscapes, interiors, anything that captures the American experience, but it is the animal portrait where the soul is so easily visible to me.