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I can’t believe that the summer just flew by as fast as it did.  The kids have been back in school for over a month and I’ve been working hard to get my routine down.  I was standing in line this morning at Garden District Coffee and, with a big grin on my face, blurted out to the the lady next to me that, “I just love Monday!”  Okay, that makes me sound weird, but, well, I do love Monday.  I love my routine.  I love that Monday means my quiet/coffee time at the coffee shop.  I love that my “office” is at a corner table next to the outlet.  Doing my “administrative stuff” ie answering emails, ordering supplies, etc… is much easier for me to do there than at home.  When I’m home I’m driven to work in the studio, of course 🙂

When we were buying a house down here in Baton Rouge, both my husband and I realized that I couldn’t afford any down time in painting.  I had several commissions on the front burner and more paintings to create after that.  Building a space was not an option and, after years of renting studio space, I was really wanting to put my income back into our pockets instead of a landlord’s.  The perfect house presented itself to us via For Sale By Owner.  I fell in love with it’s antiquity, it’s quirkiness, it’s potential, and it’s glorious extra room built on the back of the house.  A room that, if it did not have carpet, could be an excellent basketball court.  It has great natural light and a ceiling at least 20 feet tall.  We put in a bid on the house before I had ever seen it in person.  I knew it was right and my gut was correct.

So I hit the ground in Baton Rouge running.  I have completed three commissions since we moved here and am working on a fourth.  The current piece I am working on is the largest painting I have created to date.  It measures approximately 7 feet tall by 10 feet wide.  I knew, of course, that I would be able to do this, but I wasn’t sure how.  Well, I’ve never created a painting using 4 inch brushes, but this one makes them look like small instruments.  I just can’t even imagine Michelangelo up there painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  One person painted that!!!  It took him four years.  Amazing.

 

Here are images of the two commissions I completed which will be hanging in the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Florida.
This commissioned painting of Limes will be settling in a Houston, TX home.
I am always honored and humbled that people put their faith and trust in me to complete a painting for them.  I am lucky to have these opportunities and certainly never take them for granted.