The Pope and Paddington
Juan Pablo, acrylics on paper. 21 x 28 cm (© Carin Steen) 2026 Every end of the year I paint a free pet portrait of either an extraordinary dog or for a fabulous person. This time around I actually painted two portraits, for three people. Confusing, so let me explain: I was contacted by Esmeralda, a wonderful young woman from Parramos (Chimaltenango, Guatemala). She wanted to commission two pet portraits to gift to two very kind and generous people in the US who helped her to travel there and get much needed surgery. Now, I know that Esmeralda can't have much money to waste on pet portraits, because she spends every single penny on rescuing dogs, get them spay/neutered or otherwise fixed and she feeds dozens. She's a marvel of a young woman and I was happy I could do something for her. So here they are, Paddington and Juan Pablo (John Paul), you can guess, who's who... Esmeralda's project is called Huellas de Vida Gt and you can find it on Facebook. Paddington, acry...
