Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Cadeau - the "gift"


                            Cadeau
         June 24, 1995 - March 31, 2009

Cadeau means "gift" in French. This sweet dog belonged to my friend, Paz,  who lives in New York City. Cadeau was a Corgi/Border Collie cross that loved to eat!  She was 14 years old when she died, but was active right up until 2 weeks before her death. 

Paz is an amateur chef and photographer, and she maintains 2 blogs. The whole story of Cadeau is on her food blog, which you can read here. You can also see pictures of Cadeau. I painted this painting from one of those pictures, but gave her bright eyes - as she would have looked before she became so ill.

This painting is a gift to my friend - to remind her of the love of her special companion, Cadeau. I sent it off almost 2 weeks ago, and I just received an e-mail that she received it last night.

It is so hard when we lose creatures that have become special in our lives. We have had 6 dogs and 2 cats in our lives. The 2 dogs we have now, Meg and Tess, are purebred, tri-colored Border Collies. I have painted each of them, so I now have a remembrance of each of them. You can see their portraits on my website.


If you would like a commissioned painting of your pet, please contact me:
jogiesbrecht@gmail.com

10 comments:

Michelle Wiebe said...

Ohhhh! Cadeau is beautiful - you really captured the essence here. Paz is very fortunate to have this treasure.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Michelle. I LOVED how this painting came together. It was such fun to think of surprising Paz with a gift I hoped would help ease the death of Cadeau. It was an honor to be able to do this one for a friend.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much! I really LOVE this painting. I looked at it a few moments ago and it made me smile. Thanks for helping me feel a little better... a LOT better.

Paz xoxo

Unknown said...

You are most welcome, Paz. I am so very pleased that you smile when you see it... my hope for you has become reality!!! Be well and happy, friend!

Vern Schwarz said...

Great job Joanne, and a wonderful gift. Love her bright eyes.

Anonymous said...

A very touching story, a beckoning portrait, and wonderful " gift " for Paz.
Oh these creatures dig so deep in our hearts.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Vern! You have been painting some beautiful dogs also... you are really "hitting your stride" with these creatures!

Unknown said...

Hi Bonnie!
Yes - it is so true... our creatures do become a part of our very hearts! I have a very hard time thinking of how difficult it is to say that final goodbye. I have experienced it too many times - yet I would not have been without any of my animals. Thanks for stopping by. :-)

mari said...

Joanne, I just saw this portrait on Paz's blog today. It is lovely. Lovely! And what a generous thing to do for such a great person as Paz. Through her I found your blog, and how ironic: I was just thinking yesterday how I need a color wheel. Have a great day!

Unknown said...

Hi Mari!
I am so glad you were able to use my color wheel for your needs. I was very happy to paint Cadeau for Paz... I know how hard losing one's dog can be, especially after such a long friendship! Hope to "talk" with you again soon. :-)