A Painting Flies to France

In June, a friend of mine asked if I would be willing to do a painting for her that she would give to friends in France when she visited them this summer.  She wanted me to do a painting of their garden. That sounded like something I would like to do so I said yes. She obtained photos and gave three of them to me telling me to choose the one I preferred. Two of the photos focused mostly on a large, lovely coral-toned bungalow with a pool running the length of it. I chose the photo that showed a peek of the house and pool but more of the garden--an interesting tropical mixture of palm trees, pruned shrubs and flowers. And I have to say, those palm trees surprised me! When I think of a French garden, I have a different picture in my head--I guess mostly because we've visited the less temperate zones of France.

If you have ever done a commissioned work, you'll know about the extra pressure it carries. In this case there was a double level:  I wanted my friend to be happy with the painting as well as the final recipients.  It's also challenging to work from someone else's photo (no two photographer's eyes are the same) of a place you've never visited.  Plus I never want to simply replicate a photo.  So I found myself holding my breath a lot when I did this painting.

Meeko gave me moral support.  He is getting better at resting quietly in my studio while I paint, although he is still a work in progress too.

I tried to be true to most of the details of the scene while still making it look like one of my paintings. I infused it with more light. I guessed at some architectural features that were hidden by foliage in the photo. I tried to give it a happy feeling.  I've shown you a few photos so you can see its progress as I built up the detail.  The painting took me several days.

Painting of Cap Ferret House & Garden - Final Version

I delivered the painting to my friend last Friday. She was pleased and I got a big hug. The painting travelled with her to France on the weekend and sometime in the next two weeks, it will be given to her friends. My fingers are crossed that they will be happy with my interpretation of their lovely property.

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When we were in New York, I was able to visit Anthropologie for the first time. I think I was grinning the whole time I was there. What a lovely store. I bought myself that beautiful yellow and blue mug in the top photo. And I also bought Geninne's gorgeous 'Write Everyday' Journal.