Best Friends

I can hardly believe I missed posting anything throughout the entire month of April. A trip to Florida with my granddaughters definitely changed the routine, and I had lots of catching up to do when we got back. As always, the month flew by and now it is May.

In honour of Mother's Day, I thought the painting "Best Friends" might be an appropriate pick.

This painting is not truly original, it is a copy of an old print by Virgilio Tojetti, who was born in Rome, Italy, in 1849. He was a resident of San Francisco up until 1883, then moved to New York City, where he died in 1901.

One day, a client brought a print that was more than 100 years old into my studio. It was in extremely poor condition, due to water stains, tears and acid deterioration of the paper. He asked me to restore it, which I did. When he picked up the reconditioned print, he was so pleased that he asked me to paint a new one. I did so, signing my work after the original artist, "Tojetti".

I painted my version on canvas, using alkyd paint. The painting is much smaller than the original, and measures 18 inches by 24 inches. The dog in the picture is a Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog. These are beautiful, faithful dogs who are great companions and protectors of children.