Sometimes I am just amazed at the thoughtful nature of some people. Sara Silver is one of those people. Besides being a really nice person, she is a very talented photographer as well ( http://sarasilver.com ). If you go to her site and click on “creatures” you will find the original photograph that I used to create the portrait you see above. I first met Sara a few years ago when I was seeking out a professional printing company for my art. . The office of Skylark Images (www.skylarkimages.com) where Sara works, is one that I instantly liked because there were a couple dogs that belonged to employees just lounging around the room. Sara’s dog, Sydney, was comfortably snoozing under her desk. Sydney was an old girl and enjoyed her naps. Well, the Skylark people did a great job so I have been back many times. Sara and I connected a bit more I think because we both had old dogs that we loved deeply. Over the years both Sara’s dog and our dog passed away. We were there to console each other. It was a very difficult time for both of us. Time marched on and when I was getting ready for new business cards and my art opening I turned to Sara for advice. Sara jumped in on her own time to help me out with both and designed my new cards and made the invitations for the opening.
She never even charged me for her time. It was pretty much just the cost of the materials. So, I told her I would do a portrait of her girl, Sydney. The photo she loved was one that intimidated me at first. I usually work from photos of close up shots of the head and this photo was a full scene of Sydney in mid bark while shaking her body. I decided that a pastel painting was the way to go. I was taking a pastel class at the time from Clark Mitchel, a world class pastel artist. Being in this class was so helpful because all of the students give feedback on each others’ work. I was very confident with the finished portrait because of their feedback. Sara was very pleased when I delivered it to her at Skylark. I also got to meet her new side kick, Bodie, an adorable border collie! I bet there is a portrait somewhere in her future! Check out Sara’s photos at sarasilver.com or see her dog blog at sarasilver.wordpress.com. – there you will also see Bodie.
