Streeterville is a neighborhood with gorgeous and historic residential buildings mixed in with modern high rises, restaurants, hotels, and state of the art medical facilities. But on this tree lined street that runs into LSD, it's mostly old and residential architecture. And on this summer day, this street was alive with people coming and going, and therefore I wanted to capture it the best way I could. And as I often do, I used my artistic license to change things up a little. Here I included a friend and a dog who would have been hers had she had the opportunity. She was a new friend and neighbor who I loved being around. In addition to enjoying her presence, she had a brilliant and artistic mind and so effortlessly helped me find purpose in my art. Unfortunately, she would never know how helpful and critical her words were to me. She passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.  

During one of our conversations, we were talking dogs (of course) and the kind they were thinking about getting. A 'lion-looking' doodle was what she called it and was a must for them as Lion was (and still is) a special nickname for their beautiful son. We both knew that translated into a golden/labradoodle type in practical terms, but lion-doodle sounded a lot more fun.

So, in this painting, I wanted to honor my friend in the city she loved, dressed fabulously as she always was, walking her beautiful Lion-Doodle pup. I hope she likes it.