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 particular tree lined street that runs into LSD and Lake Michigan, it's mostly old and residential architecture. And on this particular summer day, this street along with all Streeterville was alive with people coming and going. So, once again, I needed to capture this pristine day on a canvas. But as I always 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 immediately hit it off with and loved being around. But in addition to enjoying her presence, she had a brilliant and artistic mind and so effortlessly helped me find purpose in my art. She helped me connect my two passions and find a way to make my pieces unique.  Unfortunately, she would never know how helpful and critical her words were to me. She passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer.  

But during one of our many conversations, we were talking dogs (surprising, right?) and the kind she and her hubby 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 doodle in practical terms, but lion-doodle sounds a lot more fun, doesn't it? 

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