I’m excited to share this piece with you. It’s one that has such a great story behind how it came about.

A couple of months ago I was admiring a beautiful fawn someone was selling on a repurposing site I frequent. This interaction opened up a conversation between the seller and myself, which lead to conversation about our Picton county connections. Many of my early watercolour paintings were subjects from the County. I was blessed to be asked to do a painting for her husband to celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary. The subject of the painting, their two fur babies in a rare moment of affection and connection…I loved the image and was so exciting to work with it.

Now I get to share the results with you. I love what I get to do for a living, I have been blessed by so many fabulous unexpected relationships through it.

This time of year can be busy and and full, but I love it! I love the opportunity to say “Thank You” to those who have done wonderful things in our school community. My mother was a teacher, and I know the care and dedication she put into her students each day, and quite often into her evenings. I’ve volunteered on school trips and seriously needed a quiet evening or nap just to recover from one day! I don’t know how educators do it day in and day out. But I know I’m grateful they do!

This next commission tells me I’m not the only person who feels that way. A school requires a team of professionals and committed volunteers and sometimes you have to say goodbye to one of your team players. It never hurts to tell them what they’ve meant to you, this is how one school did just that.

Thank you for letting me be a part of honouring one of your.

There is nothing better than having a client come back for a second or third commission! It’s affirmation that what I’ve done in the past has been what they’ve wanted and that they continue to trust me in capturing more of their special personal memories.

Thank you to all the dear people who have trusted me to capture memories. I love being a part of your journey. Here’s one that stemmed from a three part series last spring, that I’m excited to share with you all.

This time of year is such a special time for our family. Trying to teach our children not to get caught up in the commercial Christmas has its challenges. I’m so fortunate to work for people who give with compassion in mind. People who see the deep hurt felt by others in a season where so many are celebrating. It’s a season where loss can be felt the most.

This season I was humbled to paint three commissions all to be given by my clients to family or friends who had experienced loss that would make another season of giving, or a first without a special friend, incredibly difficult.

The givers of these gifts have shown great compassion and love, they have given in a way that speaks to the Heart of what the season is about.

They have said “I know your pain, I will walk with you through it, and ultimately I love you”

Now those may not have been their actual words but their hearts spoke to me in that way.

In this season of love I just wanted to shear their hearts with you.

I’m grateful, because you allow me to show my children that Christmas can be what it was intended to be.

When a person has put 10 years into a ministry and moved away from many of their children to serve others how does their church family say “thank you” for those ten year?

A commissioned painting of course! A painting of the 7 little blessings that all arrived within the past 10 years of ministry, a painting of Gods tangible love, of grandchildren of course.

There is something exciting and stressful about delivering a commission to a client. The joy of finishing is always there, but that nagging feeling of “will it be what they had in mind? “, and “will it bring them the same joy it gave me while I was painting it?” “Did I capture the essence of what was shared by the client” and the most ridiculous concern “Is it to big to fit in the car with three children?”

All these questions and insecurities play out each time delivery day approaches. Today was delivery day, no matter how much prayer goes into the process I always have the butterflies on delivery day.

This time I was entrusted with capturing the essence of a marriage venue. The place where a new family began . Ironically on the same day my own husband and I took our vows just a few years earlier.

My heart sings now with this kind of responsibility. That God would allow me to paint others memories is such a gift to me. And yet I feel a huge sense of responsibility, which is why praying has become so important to me in the process.

For this painting I didn’t have complete piece when I sent a preview of the final piece to the couple, and was pleased to have feedback for one final detail, a small detail, but for them something that encapsulated the vision and memory of the day. I think I new it needed something else, but couldn’t put my finger on it. The venue was a small chapel on a vineyard, however I had not referenced any of the vineyards vines. So with a few brush strokes, that evening finally felt confident in the final piece, and ready to deliver.

I’ll post both versions of it for you to see for yourselves, a little change but one that made the difference between a nice painting and a personal one.

Always happy to finish a commission, and for the first time in 20 years I needed to find a framer. I was fortunate enough to have a genuine friendship with the same family run business since in my late teens, even at one point working in there shop.  They  recently retired, and I’m so happy for the, but now I had to hunt for someone local to do a double header within the week! Thankful to have found a great little shop not far away at all. Here are the finished painting.

From what I’ve heard they were received well. Always love feedback from clients when it’s a gift for someone I’ll never meet.  I figure, if there are happy tears I’ve done my job, and put my heart into it.

Sure sign your dealing with an Artist who’s on a deadline , pencil smeared on the side of her hand, which often transfers to various places on her face, often going undetected by said artist. Some days I catch them before heading out in public, some days…not so much.  Oh well means I’m working right?

This commission had only two stipulation. “I want something big, that will tie the window valance in with the room.”  I’d say that leaves endless possibilities. 

I think this painting went in at least three directions before I finally found my compass.  Everything came together, though entirely different than what I’d first envisioned.

So after a couple commissions it’s always good to regroup with a personal project. Love always inspires. I find when I paint just to paint, I get an adrenaline rush that allows me to prepare for the next commission.

Now each of my loves has a spot on the wall!