judithclay

I'm sorry I'm only now discovering it...I'm afraid I got so caught up in your fairy tale type images that I didn't have time to dig deeper!

Dear Lianne! You don't ever have to be sorry. It's so hard to keep up with everybody's work, and one's own work and life ;-)) These pictures are a bit older (from 2008/9), and they're not on my front page, so it's easy to miss them. I very much appreciate your comment, and the star! So happy you like this series. As I've told Rosie below, the story is very close to my heart, and means the world to me. It means even more to me that I can share it with other people.

Yes, this has always been one of my favorites out of this series, Rosie! It is so true to my feelings. I am thrilled that the feelings reach you! Thanks for this lovely comment. It means more than you can imagine.

oh Judith... i see myself and my trusted dog in this... of course my hubbie is also in the picture here...but our dog sleeps on my side ;)) He looks sort of similar too...except a tan-colored nose (rottie)..he is as big as a bear now, but oh, when he was little and we brought him home the first time, he rode in the car three hours asleep on my chest, our hearts beating together, and since then bonded and he is convinced i am his birth mother...:))) thought i would share that with you xxx

Thank you so much, Rosie, for sharing your lovely experiences! It is so amazing how much we can bond with animals, isn't it? We got our Charlie when she was five weeks old. I taught her how to swim, I took care of her when she got sick, when she got bit by another dog, she shared my favorite cookies with me... it's like having a child! She even waited in front of the bathroom for me until I was done! It was so hard to see her suffer so much at the end :-( I so wanted to make it all better for her like I had done so many times before....

Judith your beautiful work has reminded me of the famous BLUE DOG creation of George Rodrigue... you will find many clips on YT, and his books available everywhere... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp_UhYOhulA

What a great story, Rosie! I just watched the youtube clip, and I must say that it's so inspiring! He wanted to paint what he wanted, and not what the galleries told him would sell. His blue dog almost does look like mine ;-) Who knows, maybe one day I'll become a multi-millionaire, too ;-)))) Thanks ever so much for sharing the link!

Hullo Judith!! Exactly one of the important points...it was for him what was in HIS heart...and in the end I believe this is the secret behind the beautiful appeal of the work...like yours. It is so tempting for an Artist, to compromise the vision. BIG HUG xxx

Thanks, Nico, what a great compliment! This is part of a twelve illustration children's story on a girl's love for her dog and how she had to deal with the dog dying. I entered it into a children's book illustration contest in 2009, but didn't win :-(

Well, you're a winner for me in that respect! Did you make the book anyway?

Thanks for saying that, Nico, and thanks for your interest! As for the book, there are twelve complete illustrations plus the text that I wrote. It's not a lot of text, because the story was meant for smaller children. That's as far as I got :-)