Ok, September flew by!
Just when my husband and I were settling down in Roanoke, VA, I had to go home in MD where my parents live to take care of my brother for a couple of weeks while my parents went to Korea for a family emergency. It wasn't a happy occasion, but it was nice spending time with my brother (he's a senior in high school now) and get updated on his life. :)
Because of all the changes and traveling, I wasn't able to get as much work done as I wanted to, but the ones I did get to finish were so fun and adorable!
1.
Remember this one I did back in July?
She got married few weeks ago, and she wanted to commission me to do portraits for her bridesmaids--her sisters! I thought that was such a cute idea, and it didn't hurt that the families were so cute as well. ;)
The Roberts:
The Marcums:
The Marcums actually live in Blacksburg, VA and she works for VA Tech where my husband attends. So we got to meet her in real life! She was so kind and helpful, I could only imagine how the rest of the family must be. :)
2. Pearl
Don't they look like a celebrity couple!? They recently moved to a new home and wanted to hang this on a wall. It makes me feel so flattered to know that my art will have such a significant meaning to couples and families all over the place.
3. Jennie
My good friend Jennie had commissioned me back in June for her friends' (Jeff & Lauren) wedding, and she wanted to commission me again for her brother's wedding this time!
I had more fun than I thought I would working on her shirt pattern! More on interesting/intricate shirts to come.
4. Tracy
Their first anniversary was coming up, and as a tradition, she wanted a paper gift. She sent me their engagement and wedding photos for reference, and I wish I could have better captured how happily in love these two were!
5. Melissa
I am so lucky to have customers like Melissa who make me so happy to be doing what I do. She wanted their house to be in the border, and I loved it! His tattoos were challenging at first but I got into it really quick and enjoyed it so much! :)
6. Kristy
The reference photos she sent me were from their wedding day, and it made me wish I could have been there on their special day. What a happy family! The flowers for the border were referenced from her bouquet that her mom threw it together on the wedding day! And her wedding dress was stunning as well. :)
7. 이모 (my aunt)
My incredible aunt recently was diagnosed with cancer and this is who my parents went to visit in Korea. She and my mom were really close, so I grew up visiting her family a lot, and her kids were my closest cousins. When my parents visited her she found out about my artwork and wanted to commission me to draw a portrait of her and her son. Her favorite flowers are yellow freesias and baby's breath.
When you have families far away, it can be very frustrating and feel helpless that there's not much you can do for them when they are in need. I felt blessed and happy to be able to do this for her and make her smile, as well as just talk to her as we worked on this together. I love her and miss her so much.
8. Renee
This was commissioned by her friend for her birthday. I wish I could share the reference photos I received, because you could just tell from the pictures that she was a unique person. I loved that the customer wanted her friend to be in one of her favorite shirts and the dog in her favorite jacket as well. They're from Australia, so I was asked to use Australian native flowers, and I chose gumnuts and acacias. :)
9. The Romutis Family
I love it when customers tell me specific things that make the portrait unique to them. Even little things such as who holds which cat can add more meaning to the portrait which I wouldn't have been able to do by myself. This was for their first year anniversary!
10. Emily Martin
I love doing custom family portraits for anniversaries in general, but after I finished it I found out that she was doing one for every five years! So around the same time she had commissioned me, she commissioned two other artists for their wedding day and their 10th anniversary (mine was for their 5th anniversary). How cool is that? :)
11. Connor
It's so special when I get a custom order from a guy. He wanted a portrait of him and his girlfriend for their two year anniversary, and I immediately went, "Awww!" They looked so cute together in photos, and I hope their love will stay this sweet forever. :)
As always, thank you so much for your support and love for me and/or my art! This makes me so happy and your excitement and kind words make everything easier and worthwhile. :)
