It's been a hot minute since I've updated my blog. This is not to say that there haven't been any updates, just that I've not written about them here!
If you've been following me awhile, you know I've been working on a massive pineapple painting (32" x 44" to be exact) for clients in Florida for about a year now. The painting, which was designed specifically to be hung in the custom home they are building, was completed in April of this year.
I should note, the clients, Carol and Dan, are my grandmother's sister and brother-in-law. As a housewarming gift, she and my grandfather wanted to surprise them with the completed painting by covering the cost of shipping it to Florida. In July, unbeknownst to Carol and Dan, I varnished the painting and headed to my local UPS and let the experts pack the precious cargo. Three days later, "Pineapplus Gigantus" arrived at my grandparents' front door in perfect condition.
Two weeks ago I flew to Florida to help reveal the surprise. (I would like to point out I was not cared for as lovingly by the airline as the pineapple was by UPS - I had multiple flight delays and the airline temporarily lost my bag).
The day after my arrival, Carol and Dan were invited over for a casual dinner party with my grandparents, while I hid in a back room with the painting. Upon the cue of my grandmother asking Carol how the pineapple was coming along and Carol responding that I'd be shipping it soon, I appeared with the painting and stated, "Actually, it's right here!"
And surprised they were! Carol leapt out of her chair when she saw it. All in all, it was a great success and I am so happy to have been part of it.
In addition to the painting, which was the star of the show, we had pineapple napkins, pineapple upside-down cake, and pineapple-manicured nails. It was a great evening.
Thank you to my grandparents for thinking of and executing such a fantastic, memorable surprise. Thank you to Carol and Dan for commissioning this painting and trusting me with creating your vision. I hope this painting brings you joy for years to come.
Below are some progress images, as well as some close up detail work so you can see just how microscopic I got with this, and why it took a year to paint.
So for anyone wondering, yes, I'm willing to go the extra mile (haha!) and travel to surprise your loved one with a one-of-a-kind painting.
As we head into the end of the year, some other updates that I want to mention now but will elaborate on later:
- I am currently working on commissions, and still have some availability to accept more for this year. Find me under the Contact page if you're interested in having something custom captured in oil paint.
- I will be partaking in Art in the Park in Maywood, NJ on October 15th. Come see some great artwork and say hi! More info here.
- I will be starting my annual holiday series soon. As always, both the original paintings and the holiday cards will be for sale via my website. Feel free to submit requests!
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!