Kinship in 2025 and Connecting through Commissions

Every new year is a time for deep reflection and contemplation. I always try to take some time to integrate the lessons of the previous year while reflecting on what may be required from me in the incoming year as it relates to both creating services for people while leading a life that is fulfilling and supportive to my personal goals and the goals of my family.

This year in particular has me reflecting on the powerful transcendence of love and kinship as being the things that we actually need - the things that truly matters. How do I contribute to a world that generates and celebrates more love and kinship? How do I act in accordance with these virtues I hold so dear? In that spirit I thought I would share here a little bit about the commissions process and how, for me, it is my attempt in generating a little more love and friendship in the world.

Connecting through Art Commissions

Custom 16x20 watercolor commission of a girl running by a brook in Lincoln, New Hampshire

One of the many incredible aspects of my job is having the privilege to create meaningful gifts for my clients to give to their loved ones or to gift to themselves. In this aggressively digital age, receiving a physical painting can feel that much more special - knowing that there is only one of its kind in the world. Even when I photograph my paintings or sell prints - the original artwork always holds something uniquely special that cannot be replicated. I don't know why - I don't make the rules - it just is what it is. Original artwork is powerful.

As an artist, I was nervous to take on painting commissions in the beginning - wondering if somehow it diminishes my work to create an industry (albeit a small one) out of making art. I also wondered how I would be able to build a business almost exclusively on commissions. It has been a learning curve to say the least. What I have come to know after completing over 250 commissions in the last 2 years alone is that creating art for others... is really hard. It is much easier to make things I like or paint what gets me going every day. Making art for others can actually, however, be even more emotional, confusing, and stressful. But because of these difficulties, making art for others is in fact that much more rewarding. Through the experience of bouncing my work off of the ideas of others I get to know both myself and the other person much better. The act of commissioning and painting for a client is a conversation, a synthesis, and an experience of two people working together.

Making art for others turns art directly into a mutually beneficial service not just for the art recipient but for me as well- and it is this realization that has motivated me to keep going and keep finding ways to make art that resonates for people on an individual and intimate level. Art is a conversation between many - the painter, the subject, the collector, the viewer, the inheritor. Art touches each person as it passes hands and changes walls. The many participants become a part of the art itself, and the commissioner is the core inspiration for its creation - not the painter. This is a beautiful exchange that allows me to express something that a client or collector is feeling and needs expressed. I cherish that responsibility and take it very seriously. In return, I have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the world, to create something beautiful, and to put food on my table. It is the definition of fair value exchange.

"I Am Flowers # 4" Watercolor Custom Floral Commission

Home is Where the Art Is - Valentine's 2025

Home is Where the Art Is

This year I wanted to celebrate love and my love for painting for my wonderful clients who support me. I am introducing a new house portrait size for the first time and offering framing options for these two absolutely perfect gift sizes - the 5x5 and the 5x7. The 5x5 is a little bigger than the miniature and would go perfect either on a tabletop or on a gallery wall and the 5x7 gives a little more space for landscape.

This is a perfect gift for your partner, parent, loved one, friend, or yourself. Celebrating love and kinship is so important and I think we should do it any chance we can get. To learn more or book a small portrait in time for valentines day, visit my special Valentine page.

Book a Valentine's Day House Portrait

Feature on WBZ-CBS Channel 4 News!

Massachusetts woman gives up career to follow dream of becoming artist - CBS Boston (cbsnews.com)

The title just about sums it up. It's not easy to leave the stable job, the laid-out path, the expectations...and you definitely don't see results right away. But I waste no breath in saying that following my dream to be true to myself was the right the thing for me. I didn't start painting until I was 32 years old. I always loved the "idea" of being an artist, but I never thought it was something that I was or could do. I was wrong.

Being a full-time artist is hard work, but it is worth it and I'm grateful for every moment, good and bad, that I get to explore this amazing new path.

Big thanks to WBZ TV for this segment which I feel really authentically captures me and the work I do.

Cheers to all artists (whether you know it or not) who are creating in all ways big and small. And thank you to everyone who loves and appreciates art and artists. You very truly put the food on my table.

It's hard to believe that it was already (or is it only) four years ago that I picked up a paintbrush for the first time. I had been having dreams every night of yellow flowers being painted in a black sky. At first, I thought it was some sort of strange metaphor about the pandemic, or maybe it was some indirect message from the recesses of my mind bringing me comfort in a time of trial. Perhaps it was a passed on loved one telling me to plant flowers? Eventually, my partner bought me a watercolor set and some brushes and said "maybe you should just paint..."

Well, I may have not known then, but my life would never be the same again.

Fast forward to now and I cannot imagine a life without painting. I have made so many friends, acquaintances, and colleagues through this career of total passion (and a little insanity). As a full-time artist my livelihood is entirely dependent on community. Businesses showing my art, people buying or commissioning art, and total strangers sharing my work with others. It's a game of "total surrender" and for a long time has felt like a big gamble.

I am so grateful to be on this path and painting pieces that resonate for people, pieces that bring a sense of peace, wonder, and joy.

Thank you to my clients, collectors, and colleagues for being on this journey with me. I cannot wait to see where we go next!

The Gift of Commissioned Art

Watercolor house portrait commissions make amazing gifts, but sometimes it's not always easy to know exactly the size, season, or type of style a gift recipient would want the painting to be in. This year, I am offering house portrait gift certificates that you can give in any denomination to your loved one. The certificate can be used toward the value of a portrait in any size. This is a great gift for those who are moving, first-home buyers, newlyweds, or colleagues. It is also a great gift to give as a group! Gift certificates start at $50. Vist my shop to buy a gift certificate and I will get it to you by the holidays!