This painting was awarded First Place in Oil Painting at the Wabash Valley Art Guild Spring Show in May 2024.

I took the photo 3 weeks after she had been bitten in the face by a dog, in which she lost part of her lower lip and now had a significant scar down her chin. She was five at the time, and has been a real trooper about the ordeal.

I think the painting was my own therapy, to celebrate her continued beauty and character even after such an unpleasant event.