Fifty Years of Home

I just completed a special Home Portrait Commission, and wanted to share this one with you, as it was unique...it was a surprise, so I worked from less information than typical (gotten surreptitiously, of course!) Also, I did not converse with the actual recipient, either through e-mail, or other, so I was working a bit out on a limb. But the information that was provided was rich in it's content, and painted a composition that brought to mind fifty years celebrated as a family...so I received their permission to share with you:


I also included the explanation presented along with the finished piece:

"In this special commission, many elements of their homes and family are interwoven in the composition. The blue background represents not just the love of the sea, but also open space, as to encompass their many home locations. The stripes simulate books in a shelf, reminiscent of the enjoyment of reading. A love of birds is represented through the state birds of Kentucky and Tennessee, the two states that witnessed all five children’s high school graduations.

A rough wooden plank was selected for the base, recalling the history of family woodworking, while the Scottish heritage is signaled by a loose tartan plaid at the base…as though at the base of a family tree. Two vintage buttons represent fifty years of family: Five points in the small star represent ‘5’, while the large celluloid button represents ‘0’, with points heading north, east, south and west, not just a compass at sea, but directions of growth for new generational homes.

Seven vintage brads removed from an antique chair recall a home furnished with family and collected antiques, as well as the seven family members moving through their own seas of life. Seven branches off the left limb of the tree also represent the family members, growing, blooming, and preparing for another fifty years of life, love, and family legacy."