In Memory of Henna

In March I had finished June's portrait and posted to Facebook and Instagram. The piece was well received by friends of Emily and Joe. I was emailed by a lady named Heidi who wanted me to do a portrait to honor the memory of their dog, Henna. Henna had passed suddenly and the couple were grieving.

I emailed her back and gave her a few options to consider for the medium: ink or oil pastel. We went with ink and then the next option was stippling (repetitive ink dots layered) or stamping (dime sized stamp in a fun design to layering ink). Stippling gives a piece a more classic and realistic style, which was recommended and Heidi's first choice. Stamping ink gives a piece a more whimsical feel and less detailed. She provided me with a few pictures of her fur baby and we decided on the profile shot. 

The picture had a filter on it at some point with the edges blurred. Black coats on dogs can be tricky to capture with value changes but I was able to find my way with it and did small improvises. This picture was a great reference for a black and white portrait. I did some minor cropping to the photo to better line up with an 8x10 and got to work.

I lightly sketched out the dog's profile and defining features such as jowl, color, eyes, and where the ears meet the head. I used Micron ink pens in 1,3, and 5 size. I started layering where the deepest shadows were and worked at defining an edge to the value changes in her coat. The light gave a strong sense of direction in the photo. I wanted to catch her gentle expression in her eyes and muzzle. She looks about ready to nuzzle and cuddle you in this picture if you asked her to. She is so sweet. I caught myself thinking of her as regal. It may not be strong in the photograph but I added a touch of that feeling to the end result.

When I work on pet portraits I tend to talk to them. I connect with these dogs that I haven't met through the love of their families and sometimes I think that shows. I did not count the dots or the hours. I worked on this portrait every night, during lunch breaks at work, randomly in public too. Over the span of the 4 weeks it came together. I emailed Heidi to let her know when I would be shipping it and waited to hear back on the result from her and her other half.

They loved the portrait.

"Oh, Jessica! Henna's portrait arrived, and it completely took my breath away. The likeness is better than I could have ever hoped-she is absolutely perfect. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so very much. Your work is stunning!"

I totally cried when I got this in her email.

I decided when it comes to pet portraits, my favorite kind to do are "In Memory Of" portraits-the lost fur babies. I get a spiritual connection to the subject and the work I put into it is like soul food for myself. I makes my heart happy and my mind at peace when I am able to share this gift that God gave me to help others heal and celebrate life this way. It is the most rewarding thing I can do.

Crap, I'm crying again.

I'm looking forward to really expanding this aspect of my business and give a healing hand to others through art. Etsy listings will be posted this week for more custom orders.

So thank you, Heidi, Chad, and Henna from the bottom of my heart for helping me connect with that greater purpose.