Pet Portraits Painted on Site for Maggie’s Mission
Time for a personal confession - Yes, I am that girl who cries every time the Sarah McLachlan commercial comes on (You know the one). I’ve always had a weakness for animals, so when Maggie Muirden of Maggie’s Mission approached me about doing a fundraising event for her animal rescue, it was hard to say no.
Just one look at the website and there was no turning back. All those lovable, furry faces... each one looking for a home and someone to love... I wanted to adopt them all! Instead, raising money for an organization that could realistically find homes for all these pets was, of course, a much better plan.
If you or someone you know is thinking of getting a pet, please checkout Maggie's Mission This organization is wonderful. They rescue abandoned animals, often from horrible conditions, and find them happy homes and families to love them.
Maggie’s Mission relies heavily on donations to fund their rescue efforts. Treatment, boarding, food and care for all these animals does not come without a cost. Thanks to the generous individuals who find it in their hearts to donate, Maggie’s Mission can continue saving pets’ lives year after year.
This December, for their big holiday fundraiser, Maggie wanted to theme the event around my artwork. We called it Palettes & Paws, to highlight the fun, new aspect I would be contributing. The night of the event, animal lovers gathered at Rustic Hills Country Club to enjoy dinner and cocktails, a silent and live auction, and the chance to commission a custom pet portrait, painted live on site.
Usually, when I live paint an event, I create one large painting, capturing the energy and essence of the celebration on one canvas. This time, Maggie had the idea to put a new twist on things. Instead of one painting, I set up ready to paint a number of small paintings for attending guests who brought photos of their beloved pets.
In retrospect, it was a bit risky to agree to do this, with really no clue how successful (or unsuccessful) the idea would pan out to be. Now that all is said and done, I’m happy to say it went very well and we raised even more money than I thought we would! Including the few paintings I completed as early bird orders, I ended up with not one, but TEN paintings by the end of the night! (6 completed and 4 halfway done).
I absolutely LOVED painting all these furry little guys! Each one has such character and personality, and I tried to capture that in the paintings. The highlight of my night was when one of the pet owners first saw her painting, which was a surprise commissioned by her daughter. She came right up to it and said "Oh, that looks just like my Noah!" When her daughter responded "That's because it IS Noah!" it brought tears to her eyes and a huge smile to her lips. Now THAT is the kind of reaction that makes being an artist the very best job in the world. If I could spend every day painting to raise money for animals and bringing people that kind of joy, I'd be the happiest girl in the world :)
Thank you Maggie's Mission for hosting such a wonderful event and allowing me to be a part of it.
Below are some of the completed paintings - Enjoy!
