No, I Don't Do Commissions (but can I please draw your cat?)

I finally finished 2 cat portraits I've been working on for years.  Fortunately, I was told that there wasn't a hurry since the cats were already deceased and the portraits would be memorializing them. "Good," I said at the time, "because I just started at a new school and I probably won't be able to get to it until summer."  I got stuck at one point on the first one, Cleo, because I thought she looked angry and didn't know how to fix it.  I thought I would finally have time during the pandemic to get them done, but found myself still stuck.  I actually turned it into a lesson during remote teaching, showing students the animal portraits I had done and asking for their advice on how to make the cat's expression less mean/murderous.  Their answers ranged from "give her a smiley face" to "make the eyes more rounded."  And I did make the eyes more rounded and she did look less angry.  But then one 5th grade girl gave a response I was not expecting. "I don't think she looks angry, I think she looks strong and brave.  I think she looks like a warrior queen who is going into battle." Bad. Ass. Restoring all faith in future generations. And of course she was right (the force is strong in this one).  So I changed it back.  Another breakthrough came when I tried to look at it anew and think "what would I do if I was doing this just for myself and wasn't trying to please someone else (as is the case with commissions)?" Paint the background jet black.  And as soon as I did that, easy peasy, the rest fell into place.  I announced that it was completed to the pet owner and she said, "but you're still going to do the other one also aren't you?" Fortunately, that one was done in fits and starts over 1 year and not 7. And then I had to add fabric to the outside frame to finish it off. In the end, I did really have fun making these and I love how they turned out.  But my new answer to the question of "do you do pet portrait commissions?" is this: If you want to give me some pictures of the pet and their name and some info about their personality, I'll play around with it.  And if I end up completing an art piece, I'll give you the first chance to buy it.  And if you don't want it, I can sell it to someone else.  That way, I'm making the art for myself (which brings me so much joy) and if someone else enjoys it too, fantastic. But no pressure.