It's always such fun to work with my clients on commissioned original pieces of art for their homes. My last commission of 2025 is exactly this: fun. I met my client in her new home. We walked around, located the spot for the artwork, and also looked at paintings in the space to pin point colors and ambiance she enjoys to be surrounded with. My client had seen my work before and wanted a painting in the style of my "Healing Garden" series. This series celebrates the beauty of nature and it's ability to make us feel safe and in awe.
When working on a commission, I ask my clients to make three decisions: size of the artwork, source inspiration (e.g., a photo of their favorite spot), and colors to create the painting in. My client shared the photo below: a memory of her trip to see the redwoods. How lovely! We chose acrylics on 30x24" canvas and a beautiful array of colors. With all decisions made, I started to create!
When working on a commission, I ask my clients to make three decisions: size of the artwork, source inspiration (e.g., a photo of their favorite spot), and colors to create the painting in. My client shared the photo below: a memory of her trip to see the redwoods. How lovely! We chose acrylics on 30x24" canvas and a beautiful array of colors. With all decisions made, I started to create!
 |  |
While I tend to focus on nature (e.g., flowers and their blooms), I was quite drawn to the path my client's photo captured. Such a beautiful invitation to walk through the forest. I sketched a scene in pencil and shared it with my client. Green light was given and I introduced colors: going from the white canvas to a burst of color is fulfilling and exciting!
 |  |
In my Healing Garden series, I start by filling in the sketched areas and then I work on the background. I love circles: they are such symbols of wholeness and containment to me. Halfway through - a little bit of excitement never hurts - my acrylic marker ran out of paint! Luckily, I was able to get a new one quickly and finished the background to my satisfaction.
 |  |
With the shapes colored in and the background taken care of, I layered additional details in each color area. More dots, flowers, lines. Hours of little movements that turned this white canvas into a feast for the eyes! I find this type of process restful with just the right dose of excitement of additional colors and shapes appearing in front of me.
 |  |
And here we go! The finished artwork - Healing Garden #56 - is complete and ready to add meaningful visual excitement to my client's home. The painting captures my client's unique experience during her travels, honors the colors she enjoys being surrounded by, and hopefully brings a big of sunshine to her home. Yay!
