A Special Dog Called Jessie

Jessie - Forever in my Heart, 11" x 14", acrylic

Blog 5


Maybe, you have wondered about the dog featured on my website, blog and Facebook page. Who is this dog?


After moving to Canada and into our first house, I felt very alone and homesick. I lived in a new country far away from my family and friends. I felt shy about speaking English and could not work as I still waited to become a permanent resident.


For decades, I had suffered from a severe animal phobia. This anxiety was so bad I was afraid to leave our house because of the many dogs in the neighbourhood. My husband and I decided that we had to adopt a dog to help me overcome the phobia. The Humane Society advised us to get a puppy so that I could get used to a slowly growing dog. We encountered three cute puppies at the breeder's house. We were smitten with one little girl and took her home the same evening.


Jessie did help me to get over my fear. However, it did not happen overnight. During the first couple of weeks, I was often afraid of her and called my husband for encouragement. However, she was a very clever girl who loved to please. Ingo and I spent a lot of time training her, which also helped me. She developed into a fantastic dog.


When Jessie died due to cancer on October 30, 2005, the day after her 10th birthday, I was heartbroken. She was my constant companion through many hard times while I tried to get settled in a new country far away from my family and friends. She also opened my world to so much pleasure and the unconditional love of dogs.


So why is Jessie, our Golden Retriever, still the feature of my business? Three months after her death, after we had adopted a new Golden Retriever called Candy, I felt the urge to start a portrait of our beloved Jessie. I used a photo taken on her last birthday as my reference. I wanted to make sure that I would not forget her. Painting Jessie was very emotional as my grief was still raw. I started a portrait of my daughter when the pain was too overwhelming to continue painting.


I registered both paintings for a juried exhibition. When the organizers informed me that my dog portrait had won an award for its expressiveness, I was exhilarated, proud, and moved to tears. Both paintings had received high marks for execution and artistic skills. I was very touched that my works of love had also moved the jurors. The news encouraged me to take my passion for painting past the hobby stage. I started to paint regularly, joined fellow painters for outings and participated in exhibitions. After years of dedication to my roles of wife and mother, I found a passion that made me feel like myself.


Lately, I have created only a few animal portraits, even though they always bring me immense joy. I only felted the occasional painting of our beloved pets. However, I spent hundreds of hours felting the three-dimensional miniature version of our beloved Australian Shepherd, Alex. This year, I feel like creating more felted animal paintings again, especially as it is time to capture our new puppy, Shadow. Painting him will be an extra challenge because he is almost completely black. The project excites me because every challenge is a chance to grow.


What have you attempted that brought you out of your comfort zone?