Time for Everything!

Do you ever feel like there is never enough time?  I know I'm not the only one out there that feels like time is never on one's side.  It's amazing that whether you're in the past, present or future, time is always flying by.  Time is the theme of this post.  I'll start with the future, and work my way back.....

For all of those future weddings I am going to book, I am continuing to work on the painting for Hello Darling.  I am approaching a section that I've not quite encountered with my other pieces before.  The succulent in the center has so much yummy texture that I will likely surprise myself with the process and result.  I love surprises!

On to the weddings of today....  This weekend I made another fabulous florist connection.  As luck would have it, I made this connection because of a new painting I will be creating for a family aquaintance.  It's a mother to a son gift, and I couldn't be happier with all of the pieces involved that go into making a Reenie Rose painting come to life.  First of all, let's go back to the fabulous florist. 
This past Friday, I drove all the way up to Lake in the Hills (in traffic) to find some fresh talent in the Northwest suburbs.  Grapevine Floral has newly relocated to a space that covers about 4,000 sq ft where the creativity has room to spread out and grow.  Trish was an absolute gem to work with, and I'm really looking forward to starting a working relationship with her and her clients.  I think this is the start to a beautiful friendship.
The other super great part of this wedding puzzle is the bouquet itself.  It is a gorgeous arrangement of COLOR!  No offense to the all white bouquet brides, but when I get a bouquet with some eye-popping color in it, it is a joyous occasion. 

And, finally...the past.  Today marks the day that my wonderful parents have been married for 35 years.  They are the people in my life that make all of this possible through their encouragement and constant support.  When you are working in the wedding industry, accomplishments like 35 years of marriage make any aspect of the business so much more worth it.  Thank you to my mom and dad for making everything so much more worth it.

Hello Painting!

I just started a painting for a wonderful florist I have mentioned at least once before....Hello Darling.  Natalie at Hello Darling has offered to house a painting of mine front and center in her studio.  One of the things that is going to be so special about this painting is that it is a bouquet she created and photographed.  It's really unique.

Here's a look at the painting started.

This painting will be the first thing you see when you walk into the Hello Darling studio.  It will be a great reflection of the beautiful work that Natlie creates...as well as the work that I do.

Stay tuned for additional updates , as well as, a May wedding coming up!

I'm back....though I was never really gone

I have been somewhat M.I.A. lately due to a side project that I took on.  I was graced with the joy of creating another mural.  This time, I only had to travel back to my hometown of Lemont to paint...quite convenient for stopping by my parent's for Mom's home cooking and a dip in the hot tub after a long day's work.  Lemont's best kept secret is slowly being unveiled (if I have anything to do with it).  The Inn at Smokey Row is a lovely bed and breakfast that has been in its location of downtown Lemont for a little over a year now, but nobody seems to know about it.  To liven the place up a bit and give guests a little more than a place to stay, Sue and Gary, owners of the inn, asked me to paint a mural in the hallway entrance.  You can see that the initial look of the entrance was not quite as inviting as you'd hope for.

 With a couple coats of paint and some Lemont history research, a once dreary stairway got a total makeover.

Kind of tough taking pictures of a stairway wall, but you get the idea. There's a cute little downtown scene on the bottom right, a showcase of the many steeples up top and an old canal depiction of the "Smokey Row" days on the bottom left.

You can see that I also gave the stairs some life....Lemont limestone!

Now that I'm back from my blogging hiatus, I'll be sure to not leave such a huge gap between this post and my next one.  Stay tuned!