DAPHNE
Daphne passed away in 2023, and it took Susan two years to decide on the right photograph for her portrait.
She and her husband Erik commission a painting for each of their dogs, and the image needed to be right before the process could begin. For Daphne, that meant something more specific than a strong likeness.
Susan had known Daphne was hers before they ever met. She saw her listed as a new foster through SWESR - a Large Munsterlander found unclaimed in a shelter with three tick-borne diseases, heartworm positive and severely malnourished - and that was enough. When Daphne arrived and began heartworm treatment, keeping her quiet turned out to be simple. She just needed Susan close by. The photograph used for this portrait was taken during that first month together.
Daphne had a way of reading a room. When tension rose between Susan and Erik, she would move between them and rest her head on each of their laps in turn - not anxious, just present. "She was my emotional support as much as I was hers," Susan wrote.
For the background, Susan described a forest clearing she has returned to since childhood, a place that has nothing to do with South Texas, where they lived, and nothing to do with anywhere Daphne ever actually went. But it's where Susan feels most at peace when she goes there, so that's where the portrait puts her: in the light of a forest clearing, in a place that belongs to Susan, together forever.
A few words from Daphne’s mom on receipt of her painting:
Astounded.
So incredibly grateful. I have never ever wanted a portrait of myself. But this would be the way I would want to be remembered. You captured how very deeply I am bonded to my dogs.
I am going to print out what you wrote and keep it with the painting you captured my thoughts and feelings perfectly. This has been an extraordinarily healing and meaningful experience from start to finish. Thank you