Framing "Eve and Her Dog", and the story of my friendship with Eve

I promised to share more of my story with you about how I came to make the portrait "Eve and Her Dog", and here are several pictures I want to show you.  The first is a picture of me with my dear friend Eve Weiss, who is the subject pictured in "Eve and Her Dog".  Many thanks to Eve's daughter Ricky, and to her husband Roberto for their help with this surprise for Eve.

Eve and I

A detail of the moulding that my framer, San Art Frame Shop used to frame Eve's portrait.

Just the frame was the surprise in this instance, since Eve already knew about the drawing I was making of her with Stubby, and here is the picture that Ricky's husband, Roberto, took when we showed it to Eve.


The story of Eve and I really began before I was born, when Eve, her husband Gus, and my Dad were in the same study group together and became friends at NYU Law School.  I first met Eve, Gus, and their three children, Jonathan, Ricky, and Robin, when our family travelled to Flushing, NY to visit their family and see the New York World's Fair.  We had so much fun, both at the Fair, and with their family, and after I returned home, Eve contacted me to ask if I would make a painting of their family dog Brutus.  I was only twelve years old, and it was my first-ever portrait commission request!   Can you imagine how excited I was?  Not only that, but the oil painting of Brutus hung proudly in their home for many, many years.  So I made this drawing of Eve to thank her for inspiring me in this important way during the early years of my life's journey as an artist.