Who Needs Sleep?

I am just coming off a whirlwind weekend and trying to get all of my ducks in a row.  There are emails galore to send out, follow up calls to be made and a painting to start, but I really must share this weekend with you first.

It all started out with Indie Wed on Saturday.  What an amazing day filled with wonderful people walking through, inspiration all around, tasty treats and good music.  Looking back, I wish I would have taken pictures of all the fabulous vendors I admire...but when I think about the quantity of images I would have to post, it's probably best that I remain selfish and stick to just me.  There were so many great things going on!

Here's a look at my booth:

I was so lucky to have several pieces on loan from my clients along with 3 bouquets recreated for me by 3 talented florists.  Larkspur was paired up with Katie and Patrick's painting....

Exquisite Designs made a bouquet to compliment Sarah and Ernest's painting....

And finally, Natalie at Hello Darling recreated her original bouquet for her painting....

Thank you to such a wonderful group of ladies for all of your help in making my booth so beautiful.  For more photos from this event, visit the Reenie Rose Facebook page.

So, 10 days before Indie Wed, I received an email from the Lovely Bride Blog stating I had won tickets to a bridal event....in New York.  Yes, I know, who enters a contest to win tickets in NY the day after a big event, especially when that said person lives in Chicago....well, I do.  And, yes, as luck would have it, I won.  Thank goodness for frequent flier miles, Hotwire and a nice mom.  In no time flat, everything was booked and we were going to be off to New York.

With a 7:30am flight on Sunday, we arrived in NY to attend The Wedding Party New York with Martha Stewart Weddings just in time to see Darcy Miller (Senior Vice President and Weddings Editorial  Director for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) speak about her own wedding inspiration.

 After Darcy spoke, an allstar lineup joined her on stage for an open discussion panel.  Take a look at these heavy hitters:

 From left to right we have hostess Claudia Hanlin (Wedding Library), Darcy Miller (Martha Stewart Weddings), Amsale Aberra (Founder of Amsale), Mindy Weiss (Celebrity Event Planner), Matthew Robbins (Matthew Robbins Design), Sylvia Weinstock (Expert Cake Designer) and Peter Callahan of (Callahan Catering).
Awesome, right?!  Did I mention that we were sitting in the front row for the panel discussion....even more awesome.  Highlights of the day besides the front row....meeting Mindy Weiss and Matthew Robbins and having them both sign my book (Matthew Robbins' Inspired Weddings) and take my business card and spotting Martha Stewart pushing a stroller with a baby....

Darcy Miller and I after we chatted about my business for a bit.

Mom and Sylvia talking cake.

Besides the super star panel, there were some amazing vendors at the show as well....

Centerpiece by Blade Floral & Event Design.  Love these colors!

Awesome cakes with realistic flowers by Sugar Flower Cake Shop.

More artwork in cake form.  This beautifully intricate work is by Creme Delicious.  These henna inspired masterpieces have been featured in Oprah Magazine.

The end of the event featured a Kleinfeld fashion show with the owners of Kleinfeld, Mara Urshel and Ronnie Rothstein, introducing the line.

The final dress was a $32,000 Pnina Tornai dress.  It was a true showstopper.  Just amazing!

After this kind of whirlwind day, what else can you do but head over to the Waldorf Astoria and check out the swag bag goodies over some tasty martinis.  So, that's what we did....

More pics from this NY trip can also be viewed at the Reenie Rose Facebook page.

A Masterpiece!

And, end of day.  Yes, I have finished Katie and Patrick's painting!  55 hours later and this puppy is complete.

I'm very excited about this piece.  For one thing, I love that this painting is being given as a gift to the couple by a group of friends.  I wish more people would do this...not just because it would give me more business, but because I think a gift like this would steer away from the lame registry / awkward cash gift that usually happens at weddings.
Secondly, this bouquet stands out from many of the other pieces that I have done.  It has such a wide variety of flowers and colors that created heavy detail and complexity that I am happy to have in my portfolio collection now.

 A big thanks to the vendors that gave me so much to work with.  Nature's Touch in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan created such a stunning bouquet while Widdis Photography captured it perfectly and provided me with the images to use for the painting.  Since this wedding was in Michigan, and I was not able to attend it, the gift of having such beautiful images of a fabulous bouquet provided for me was priceless.

Congratulations to Katie and Patrick!  I hope your painting is a reflection of the beautiful marriage you will have.  Cheers!

Quicky Update

The start of today...

Growing Flowers

Just a quick update....

See How I'm Fairing

I've been putting some quality time into Katie and Patrick's painting and it's coming along quite well.  What I've noticed about this one is that I tend to be gravitating toward the smaller brushes.  The flowers are so small and the detail is kind of crazy.  It's coming alive though....

You may be wondering what the little blurb is in the bottom right hand corner.  Well, let's just say that was the result of me painting on site at the Lemont Art & Music Fest.  It was a terrible cold and windy day.  Not much painting was done because I was on wind patrol most of the time, and painting in gloves is not ideal.
Thank you to all of you that came out to warm my spirits.  That was the best part of my day!

It's a Doosie!

Now that I've finished Christine and Mike's painting, it's onto the next one, and like my title states: "This one is a doosie!"  A generous group of friends has purchased a Reenie Rose painting for a lovely couple, Katie and Patrick, whose bouquet turned out to be a whimsy of wonderful things....it even has a butterfly!

 I've sketched in this piece though it looks to be a chaotic group of lines that I will have to play detective to.

 Visit me this Saturday at the Lemont Art & Music Fest to watch me paint in person outside in the chilly fall air.  I'll need some warm support to assist me in this piece!