I wanted to get Julie something unusual for Christmas. After thinking long and hard, I decided to commission a portrait of Ollie for her. I knew exactly where to go for that, to my talented blogging friend and marvellous artist, Jane Lee McCracken. I have bought her prints and T-shirts before, as well as greeting cards she sells. Her work is done in ballpoint pen, and rendered in meticulous detail.
I contacted Jane in the summer, and sent various photos of Ollie, agreeing a price for the completed work to be mounted and framed too. She sent back various ideas, and I eventually settled on one. When it arrived, I couldn’t have been happier, and I was excited to see Julie open it on the 25th.

Before I handed it to her, she gave me a present too. Despite the Christmas wrapping paper, it was obviously a framed print or photograph. Once it was opened, you can imagine my surprise.

She had also commissioned a drawing of Ollie, from a friend she met on social media. And she had also chosen a design with more than one image, in her case a pencil drawing, with pictures showing Ollie as a tiny pup, contrasted with him now.

I cannot recall ever having given and received near-identical presents before, but this was indeed a double delight. If you would like to contact Jane with a commission idea, this is the website where you can see her work, and use the contact form. https://janeleemccracken.co.uk/
Payment is made easy by Paypal, and I can confirm that she is 100% reliable.

Both photos can be greatly enlarged, by clicking on them.