A New Memorial Portrait

A good, though rainy, morning to you from East Nashville. I hope every one is safe and dry today as we have some rough weather coming today.
As I have said on many occasions, a lot of my portraits are memorials. I’m always sad and honored to do memorials. As a society we have many rituals around death to try and cope with the loss of a loved one. Funeral or life celebrations are a way to face the grief of that loss.
We don’t really have those rituals when it comes to the death of a pet. I’ve always found that somewhat strange, mostly because in my experience the loss of a pet has caused more actual grief than the loss of some people. The bond with a pet can be extremely strong, and usually not tempered by the interaction with another person.
So I try to think of my portraits as a sort of ritual around that loss. I know when I lost my guys and was finally able to paint them, I felt a sense of peace. I now see them many times everyday and feel the love for them that I had. So I am so honored to paint these for my clients.
This is Belle, and she recently passed away suddenly. I so hope this helps my clients with their grief.
As always, thanks for looking. Stay safe and well.