One day I received an inquiry through my Instagram account from someone named Annie. Her parents had just sold their home, and Annie was thinking about gifting a home portrait to them as a keepsake. Would I be interested in painting this? Why yes, I would!
We shifted the correspondence to email and she provided some reference photos. One of the great things about commissions is the ability to customize them. You want your home portrait painted as though it were a bright, sunny summer day? No problem. Prefer moody and overcast? Coming right up. I can add elements to a painting (like family members or a pet) or remove elements (such as a car from a driveway). I can do whatever you want—it's your custom piece of art!
For Annie's commission, there were a bunch of little important customizations needed. Details that, to anyone else, would have seemed insignificant, but to her parents, they would hold all kinds of history and memory. She requested, for example, that I include the chestnut tree, the side gate, the red adirondak chairs, and also the sunken / cracked driveway. What these elements meant to the family—what special or hilarious memory or inside joke they represented—I'll never know. I never asked. (But if I'm honest, I am kinda curious...I mean a cracked driveway? What could that be about?) But a commission is not about me. A commission is about you. It's your story. Or the story of the person you're gifting it to. Every commission is one-of-a-kind.
The finished painting measured 11 x 14". Shortly after receiving it, Annie and her husband wrapped it and presented it to her parents. “We’ve gifted the painting to my parents and they loved it. They can’t stop staring at it and talking about it and all the little details you captured." No, Annie. It was the details you captured, and communicated to me. Your attention to detail is what made this the extra-special gift that it was for your folks.
Is there a special place full of memories that you'd like captured in a one-of-a-kind painting? Drop me a line. I'd love to bring it to fruition.
