Recently a neighbor commissioned me to do a house portrait. I met this neighbor a few years ago while I was on a walk and noticed a bulldog in their front yard. I LOVE bulldogs so I stopped and asked if I could pet the dog. She said I could and that his name was Harrison Ford. I proceeded to squat down and called his name. Next thing I knew, Harrison Ford was coming towards me, hopped up to greet me, and pushed me all the way onto my back. Harrison was not a light boy! He let me pet him and tolerated my love with an aloof, heavy-jowled disdain appropriate for a bulldog.
As I was saying goodbye, his owner mentioned that Harrison Ford had an Instagram account (
@harrisonfordbulldog). When I got home I looked him up and was amazed that Harrison had quite the following! Currently he has over 50,000 followers and is indeed a world-famous bulldog! In addition to the incredibly cute photos, Harrison's comments are hilarious. If you are an animal-lover you must go there now and give him a follow.
So when Harrison's human mom asked me to do a house portrait I naturally asked if she wanted Harrison to be on the front steps. I was surprised when she hesitated. But the reason she paused was that Harrison was going to become a big brother in a couple days and she wasn't sure if I would be willing to put them both in. She sent me a photo of little Norman Peanut and I couldn't even believe the cuteness overload. I told her I would be happy to put them both in the portrait, even though they might be small.
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| Norman Peanut and Harrison Ford |
Below you can see the black and white drawing before adding watercolor.
And here is the mostly-finished portrait after adding color.
A close-up so you can see the boys.
I love how you never know how a brief encounter may affect your life. Little did I know when I left for my walk that day that I would encounter a world-famous bulldog and end up sketching his house! So much magic in this world.
"Fate has a weird way of circling back over paths that were meant to cross."
—Gail McHugh
"Paths cross all the time in this world of ours, sometimes in the strangest places."
—Stephen King
A special thank you to Harrison and Norman's mom Sarah for letting me use her beautiful photos,
commissioning the portrait, and for her incredible sense of humor.
