Bindi Irwin Shares Painting Reimagining Her Wedding Day With Dad Steve Irwin
‘My family. Our wedding day. This artwork gave me happy tears,’ Bindi wrote
This past March, a small, intimate wedding took place at the Australia Zoo. It was Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell’s ceremony, and they exchanged vows so beautiful, her brother Robert got teary-eyed simply talking about his big sister’s wedding day. Months later, though, it’d be Bindi’s turn to shed a few happy tears — thanks to a piece of gorgeous artwork reimagining her wedding day with her late father, Steve Irwin.
“‘To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.’ ― Thomas Campbell,” Bindi captioned the photo of herself, her husband, her mother Terri, and her brother Robert posed with the touching painting gifted to Bindi from a fan, visual artist Debb Oliver. “Thank you @the_monkey_brush for creating this spectacular piece.”
The painting shows Bindi in her wedding dress flanked by her now-husband holding their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Piggy, and her father, who was tragically killed in 2006 by a stingray. Next to Steve are Terri, Robert, and Steve’s pooch, Sui.
According to Access Online, Bindi received a physical copy of the image after seeing it on Oliver’s Instagram in July. “My family. Our wedding day,” wrote Bindi, who announced her engagement to Powell last summer. “This artwork gave me happy tears. Thank you to ‘The Monkey Brush’ for creating such a beautiful piece, it means the world to me.”
Oliver recently posted about her experience meeting the Irwins. She started her multi-video recount start by explaining just how excited she was to see the photos of Bindi’s wedding. “And when I finally saw them, they looked amazing,” she said. “Everything was perfect, but of course, we all wished Steve could have been there to walk his little girl down the aisle.”
“I can safely say the whole world wanted to see Steve’s joy and pride on such day. So, I wanted to show people what I thought that would look like to bring people that loved them some comfort,” she continued.
It took Oliver more than 25 hours — over the course of two months — to paint the piece.
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After sharing it on Instagram, Oliver then received word from Bindi’s camp that she saw and loved the painting — “and that it made her day,” Oliver added.
Oliver recently met Bindi and the family, admitting she was so overwhelmed and so nervous to meet them. “I was just there — just ugly crying, just so starstruck. They were so nice to me and the boys,” Oliver recalled, adding that they all followed social distancing protocols.
“I wish I could hug you!” Bindi says excitedly in the video.
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“Deep down, I questioned if they could be that kind and sweet; but trust me, they are that kind in real life,” Oliver assured.
