by Suzanne L. Adams
"Gaius"
soft pastels
"Gaius"
soft pastels
|
Gaius, now a senior, was recently adopted by a very caring man, Bill, after his Mistress fell ill with cancer and died. Bill learned of Gaius' grief through his foster caretaker whom he happened to work with. He understood how Gaius felt as his own mother's Shepherd, Sophie, grieved identically after she passed away. Shortly thereafter, Sophie died too which left Bill grieving not only the loss of his mother but now the loss of his childhood dog, Sophie, as well. Before long, Bill found Aasta at his friend's shelter, the same one Gaius appeared at later on. He took Aasta in, and then Gaius. Together Gaius and Aasta live happily with Bill along with Caine, another adopted senior Shepherd as well! Gaius brought with him his long-time favorite blanket and 3 toys, all of which he guards preciously everyday. His little squeaky newspaper is his 'security blanket' that he takes with him from place to place. Bill says, "Gaius has always been very vocal. He likes to bark and tries to talk. During his first few nights with me, he went out the doggie door alone and stood in the back garden and howled--all alone.... It was the saddest thing I think I have ever seen an animal do--and live. After those first 3 or 4 nights, he has never done that again. Guess he decided we weren't so bad after all! " Bill exclaims. "In this portrait," Bill says, "You have captured him just about to speak his mind about something.......ears up, eyes bright, and mouth open to speak...." And that was our goal-- to capture him full of life and about to speak! Later, after I sent the portrait off to Bill, a package came in the mail. Icouldn't figure out who it might be from, but when as I opened it I realized it was a gift from Bill--- the Monks of New Skete's book, I & Dog! I turned the book over, and saw Gaius' dad sitting with a Monk! I sat down and read it, looking at all the gorgeous pictures of dogs and reading the short writings and sayings. It touched me so much...I couldn't help but think of my own German Shepherd Dog, Leben, especially in the paintings I did of him called "Fire Talk" , The Good Shepherd", and "Dog and Butterfly". Even though he died several years ago, it still seems like yesterday (see a Trubute to Leben).
PS: The collar on Gaius was deliberately left on him as each of Bill's
GSD's have their own collar with a specific color. It all started
with Sophie who insisted on wearing her ruby
red collar with its jingling tags at all times as if it were her jewelery.
Hence, Sophie, Caine, and Gaius (and soon Aasta's) portraits all display
their unique charming collars.
|
Other German Shepherd
Paintings:
."Stryker"
/ "With The Roses" /"Sophie"
/ "The Good Shepherd" /"Caine"
/ " Fire Talk" / "Dog
& Butterfly"
To Commission a Portrait
Like this one click here,
commission
a portrait
Back to: Home
See Also
Favorite
Dog Poems
Web Site Menu
Home
/ Limited
Edition Prints / Notecards
/ Painting Prices
/ Artist's Profile
/ Dogs / Cats
/ Children &
Pets / Birds
/
Hummingbirds
/ Landscapes
/ Figures / Published
Work / Dog Poems
/Links / The
Art of Cytology
|
No image on this web site may be copied, printed, or used in any way without expressed contractual agreement. All work is copyright protected. |