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.

Completed Portrait of Eve and Her Dog

  "Eve and Her Dog," 15 1/2" x 21 1/2", charcoal and pastel on Arches Aquarelle paper (click the image to see it large)

Here is the completed portrait of Eve.  I did two preliminary drawings before getting to this final version, primarily because after sketching it out I realized I wanted to try it larger to improve the level of detail while still utilizing charcoal and pastel.  This drawing was inspired by a very small black and white photograph taken of Eve and her sweet dog, Stubby, on a black rooftop.


This is a nostalgia portrait of Eve in her youth, and memories can be very important to a portrait like this.  In the first sketch I had Eve on a white towel on the black roof as she was in the photo. When we talked a bit about her memories of this time, Eve said she always remembers the trees everywhere, and could I put trees into the background of whatever version I came up with. Then I suggested a beach scene with the trees, and she liked that too.  In this way both of our ideas combined and contributed to her portrait's final outcome.


(*additional note:  I've replaced the photo of the art in this post with a better record copy, and there is a little more background about this portrait I'd love to share, but it must wait a few weeks, since it's a surprise.)

Eve and Her Dog (in Progress)

        "Eve and Her Dog," (in progress) 21" x 15 1/2", charcoal and pastel on Arches Aquarelle paper

          More to come soon on this portrait................