Our hearts are full: My favorite review and giveaway EVER

Earlier this year, the fabulous Leah Davies reached out and asked if we’d be interested in having a portrait painted of Emmett.

Yep!

In fact, having his portrait done was one of his Bucket List items!

Over the course of several months, Leah and I emailed back and forth, and she shared the incredible progress updates of Emmett’s portrait. Before I get into the painting itself, I have to say that Leah is just a lovely person. She was an absolute pleasure to work with throughout the process, and I feel so inspired by her and her art (you can check her out on Facebook and Instagram – and her dog Henry is super cute, too). Seeing her work online is incredible, but trust me – the real thing will blow you away.

Okay, so, anyway! We used this picture of Emmett because it really captures his happy, open spirit.

From the beginning she asked if we were okay with her changing the background to a photography technique called bokeh, which is an out-of-focus shimmer of light. That sounded so perfect to me! As she worked on Emmett’s portrait, she sent updates of her process.

We opened the box so carefully…

Inside a protective cardboard sleeve, we got our first glimpse. And we both started to cry! It’s seriously so perfect and captures the essence of Emmett.

On a shelf in our living room, we have a framed version of the inspiration pic, so we snapped a side-by-side photo.

I honestly think the portrait is FAR better than the photograph! It’s so beautifully detailed – you can see the photographer reflected in his eye in the photo, and Leah captured that in the painting!!! As John said, you can just see how soft his fur is and feel like you can pet him!

We are so completely in love with the painting. It’s so beautiful, and it really does reflect Emmett’s inner strength, happiness, and spirit perfectly. I honestly could never have even imagined it would turn out so perfectly!

Which brings us to our conundrum! Where to hang it!!

When we moved in, we knew the portrait was coming, so we hadn’t yet hung much on the walls. Now I want to be sure it has THE place of honor… I just need to figure out where that is! As soon as I have it hanging, I’ll post a pic of the final spot.

Seriously, though, can you even believe how gorgeous the portrait is?! I’m so honored and touched and, basically, beside myself with glee over this!

OH! And guess what else!!

Leah Davies Art has so generously donated FOUR $50 gift certificates so that four of YOU can get a fabulous custom portrait done of your dear pets!

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. The widget should load below in a few seconds, or if you’re reading this via email or in a feed reader, you may have to click the link. (This one includes bonus entries for connecting with Leah online!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you, Leah, for putting your time and talent into capturing Emmett in this portrait. You are an incredible artist, and I’m honored to have your work hanging in our home! And thank you SO MUCH for offering gift certificates to OMD! readers. So much gratitude.

Our hearts are full.