Ft. Flipper

Okay - so the title of this blog probably makes no sense, but it is the theme of my latest painting. Before Christmas, my dearest and oldest friend Jen asked me if I would do a painting for her to give to her brother as a present. I was touched and nervous - Jen is pretty particular and I knew that she had something cooked up in her head and it was going to be no small task to get that out and on to paper. We sat down and we discussed the painting for over an hour, details, location, font, etc. She wanted a vintage resort poster look, her brother loves to fly fish, so that would be our focus for the painting. Her brother's in-laws have a cottage in Maine and that is where he proposed to his fiancee. The final touch was to give this gem a name - apparently Jay's pet name from his wife is "Flipper, " I'm not sure why, it isn't my job to ask - in their home they have a basement or what is fondly referred to as the "man-cave." Jen thought it would be fun to label the painting "Ft. Flipper" since it would go in the basement in his space.

I was excited to do this painting because it made me work with a bit more realism, I used Mt. Battie as my reference (which worked out well because that is where Jay proposed - I love when things work out that way!) and then started looking up fly lines, baskets, the type of trout that would be in a stream in Camden, Maine, etc. I am really pleased with how this turned out and best of all Jen was too. I present to you - Ft. Flipper:

I decided to line the painting with an irregular border and the bottom edge would be a copy of a fly rod and reel. A funny side note, the painting has since been altered. When Jay received this he liked it, but after awhile he had to ask Jen what the significance of 2007 was. She said it was the year you got married and bought your house. He laughed and said, "No, it was 2008." Oops! Well at least I'm just the painter and didn't stand up in the wedding like Jen did! Ha! All is well though and we are now Est. in 2008!

This actual fly basket was in an auction on the Orvis website for $1,500!!!

I learned that Brown Trout frequent the fresh water streams of the Northeast.

Thanks again Jen for trusting me with this project - I had A LOT of fun doing it and creating it with you. I hope Flipper enjoys it for years to come in his man-cave. Thanks again - stay safe and watch out for all that damn snow we're suppose to get tonight. My kids are praying for a two hour delay...

Lindy

So my dear friend Heather, or Hea as we like to call her contacted me EONS ago to do a custom 8 x 10 canvas piece for her friend who just had a baby.  Well this was all in the midst of my Seattle trip, Meredith's table, getting ready for the Relay and my Indy Star blog starting up, and to top it off in the middle of baseball season.  To say that I bit off more than I could chew was the understatement of the year.  So much for under promise and over deliver - thank goodness Hea is a thoughtful and understanding friend.  A lesser person would have fired me!  Anyhoo - she didn't and thank goodness because I had a lot of fun making Lindy's canvas.  I love doing custom pieces, I love getting basic information and translating it.  For Lindy, being born and to be raised in Kentucky, her room is Thoroughbreds, navy and white ticking stripes and batten berg lace.  A dainty country girls dream!  So I pulled that together and came up with:

Lindy's horse ranch

Neigh!

Notice the "L" on the horse blanket - yep, did that on purpose!

So cute! Here's what Heather had to say:

Annie, 

I had to email to tell you know that I absolutely LOVE the lindy portrait.  Better yet, Susan LOVED it.  You are a remarkable, amazing artist and I am so proud of you!!  It was PERFECT!!!  I loved the different horses, the hay bale and silo -- simply wonderful!  I can't thank you enough for your beautiful work and your time.  I am so glad to be your friend.  :)

Thanks, my sweet friend.
Love, Hea

Go Pack Go!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas - I know I did and I can't believe it is already over.  The best part is that now I can post some of my finished pieces that were Christmas presents!!!  

It is no secret that my brother is an enormous Green Bay Packers fan.  He has traveled to the frozen tundra alone and with friends and family to support his team.  He's pretty passionate - to the point were he can be downright ridiculous, but we humor him all the same!  My mom, an avid Bears fan, wondered where she went wrong with my brother (the Packers fan) and me (the Colts fan).  Lets just say it would make for some interesting fun when our teams played one another!

In any event, a while ago Steve had asked me to do a Green Bay painting for him.  Years ago I did a 16 x 20 canvas with his name: Mr. Renzino, for outside of his classroom.  It had all of his favorite things on it, the White Sox, the Packers, Basketballs, his black cat, and much more.  I thought I would do his new canvas in the same size, in the event it was vetoed by my sister in law for home display and he could at least take it to school! So I painted the Green Bay and Packers names in their authentic green and gold, but instead of the typical "G" logo, I decided to switch it with a much more interesting icon.  The cheese wedge!

And yes my brother does own a cheese wedge hat - courtesy of me many birthdays ago.

Steve was surprised, which was nice, and I am pretty sure he liked it:

Once again, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday, there is more to come!  Take care, travel safe and thanks!!!!

"G" is for gorgeous!

I am so excited to share with all of you my latest custom piece of art. I was commissioned by a wonderful woman named Amy, that I had met on the Diaper Pin web forum. After launching my site, Amy contacted me and asked if I could create a canvas for her daughter, Genevieve's room. Miss G was transitioning from a little girl room to a big girl room complete with new bedding. So based on the color criteria, new bedding and flower preference I painted a 24 x 24 inch canvas similar to my flowers are de'vine theme. Amy was fantastic because she shared her complete vision, which made my job easier to deliver. I went to work and I am thrilled with the end result.

The complete work with white wooden edging to frame the canvas.

Little flowers, little birds.  

I was so anxious all day, wondering what she would think - I was blessed with this response on the email this evening!

 
I AM THRILLED ANNIE!!!!!! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am with the beautiful piece of art!!!!!! It is absolutely PERFECT, and better than I dreamed. It is going to look fabulous above her bed. (I bought the Penelope quilt!).
Wow, I just can't thank you enough. I LOVE IT!!!!!
And, AND, Genevieve love's it too! Can't wait for my husband to get home so he can see it as well.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

~Amy

Needless to say that just made my evening.  I was my pleasure to have been able to work on such a wonderful and unique project and with such a fantastic client.  Thank you!

I couldn't close this post with out a quick shout out to two of my closest girlfriends Brooke and Heather (Hea).  These lovely ladies are celebrating their birthday today.  I love you both and I hope your day was spectacular! oxoxoxo!