Sometimes It's Not What You Expect

Over the past week, I've spent my evenings painting a Shih Tzu dog named Zoey. Her painted picture was to be a gift from a woman to her brother, as both are Shih Tzu dog families, and he especially babied this little pup. He was to be surprised with a gift of his dog preserved as an 8x8" piece of art. But shortly after my customer commissioned this work, she emailed me to tell me the worst news; that Zoey had unexpectedly passed away, and that the grieving brother was visiting in a week from today.
So I worked a little faster than normal to provide the painting to the buyer, so that she could share it with him, hopefully some joy came from it. I know all too well that it's hard to be cheered up after the death of a family pet, especially one that is your truest love.