Nanny's Vase (Small Study)

There's something about the way glass and crystal reflects the light and catches my eye. Same goes for clear water in streams. For a long time now, I've wanted to try my hand at painting crystal so when I had this beautiful bouquet of roses on my counter in a very special vase (pink roses "Belinda's Dream" and red roses "Oklahoma"), I thought a small study would be a good start. I knew it wouldn't be easy to capture the colors and design of the crystal.

The vase is one that I picked up a long time ago from a family friend and avid collector of treasures and garage sale finds whom we called "Nanny." Nanny took great relish in her garage sale discoveries and was known to give you a good deal on an item when she re-sold it if she thought you loved it as much as she did. I believe she might have even raised the price if she thought you didn't love the object as much as she did! I bought this at a time when the family budget was tight and it definitely wasn't on the list of household necessities. I think Nanny knew that because she gave me a bargain. I swear the flowers look even more lovelier when I pull out this vase to hold them.

I look forward to trying my brush at more glass and crystal. I can't offer this one up for purchase as it was snatched up before I could get it posted.

"Nanny's Vase"
8"x10" oil on canvas, SOLD

An aside: If you don't have an Oklahoma rose, do yourself a favor and go out and get one! Heaven scented!!

Cook's Garden at Chateau Chenonceau

The Cook's Garden at Chateau Chenonceau in France is a commission that I recently completed and wanted to share with you. The client I painted it for had a beautiful selection of vacation photos from her trip and wanted to commemorate her journey with a painting for her house.

These types of commissions are very much a combined effort between myself and the client because often I am trying to capture the feeling of a place I've never been before and the client has their own special memories they want to capture.

I knew, when I saw her photo, that I definitely wanted to paint it. Who could resist?! I completely lost myself in this garden as I worked on it over many weeks. Sometimes, I had to shake myself out of it and come back to my little painting corner. It was a joy. I do know that after painting it, I hope I someday have the privilege of journeying there myself. I wonder if I will walk into the garden and feel a special connection after having studied it for so long?

I always feel honored when someone asks me to create a visual reminder of a special memory of a time and place in their life.

"The Cook's Garden at Chateau Chenonceau, France"
30"x30" oil on canvas, private collection