The first time someone asked me to paint a portrait of her little dog Josie, I felt uneasy about it. I had not done pet portrait commissions yet. Would my impressionist painting style work for that? But she assured me that she would not be upset if it didn’t look exactly like Josie. So I said I would try it. Long story short – she loved the painting, and I was happy with it, too. Since then, I have painted goats, a Macaw, a sea turtle and a dog with his back turned as he looked at the scenery. One time, I was given several photos of two dogs. My mission, should I choose to accept it, was to paint them together. I picked two photos that captured their cute, alert, and curious expressions. But (wouldn’t you know it), they were looking at different things, turned in different directions, and one was walking and one was sitting. This wasn’t going to be as easy as the two goats who had both been facing the camera! But I didn’t back away from the challenge, so the mission was accomplished! Cats are another challenge. They often don't like to pose!