April 9, 2011 I attended the International Association of Canine Professionals annual dog conference in San Diego. I met a lot of great people from all over the world. There were informative talks from experts in their fields and lots of products to see. Besides being there as a dog trainer I was also there to share my artwork. My major goal was to present Cesar Millan “The Dog Whisperer” with a portrait of his dog “Junior”. Although I was a little nervous, it couldn’t have gone better. 
I presented the portrait at the end of his talk in front of an audience of about 300 people. This portrait was a “thank you” from me to Cesar for all of the years of useful and practical information he shared in his show. 2004 was the year that I began my other big passion which was creating original illustrations of dogs. As I was training dogs, I began to notice the incredible beauty in their faces. I think Ceasar’s “calm leadership” philosophy contributed to my ability to connect with and see dogs in a way I hadn’t before. And now, creating portraits is an important part of my life. So thank you Cesar … both Junior and Cesar seemed pleasantly surprised with “Junior’s” portrait as you can see from the pictures. I also want to thank Martin Deeley www.floridadogtrainer.com and Denise Collins www.italkdog.com of the IACP organization for helping to make my presentation possible. I’ll have upcoming posts so you can take a closer look at “Junior’s” portrait.
I presented the portrait at the end of his talk in front of an audience of about 300 people. This portrait was a “thank you” from me to Cesar for all of the years of useful and practical information he shared in his show. 2004 was the year that I began my other big passion which was creating original illustrations of dogs. As I was training dogs, I began to notice the incredible beauty in their faces. I think Ceasar’s “calm leadership” philosophy contributed to my ability to connect with and see dogs in a way I hadn’t before. And now, creating portraits is an important part of my life. So thank you Cesar … both Junior and Cesar seemed pleasantly surprised with “Junior’s” portrait as you can see from the pictures. I also want to thank Martin Deeley www.floridadogtrainer.com and Denise Collins www.italkdog.com of the IACP organization for helping to make my presentation possible. I’ll have upcoming posts so you can take a closer look at “Junior’s” portrait.
4 Responses
Wonderful portraits. You really capture the essence of each dog. I can see why both Cesar and Junior liked theirs!
Do you work in pastels? Pencil?
Beautiful!
Thank you for the comment! Yes, I work in both.
This is such an awesome story! Although I am not surprised, Lesley you have always been a woman with big ideas and endless determination. I knew you would meet Cesar sooner or later.
Hey Rob, Thanks for the great comment! It really made my day! See you soon! Lesley