A Painting.

I won't spend much time dwelling on the fact that I haven't updated my blog in ages. I'll just jump right to the news worthy of visiting this old blog friend of mine. For a LONG time now, I have been on the hunt for something to put above our dining room fireplace. I sort of knixed the idea of a mirror as I already have a mirror hanging in our entry and powder bath, both which are in earshot of the dining room. I wanted something feminine in color (since my fav color is pink), but also added a glamorous layer to the rather tone on tone esthetic of the room. I found an artist via Instagram that I was keeping a very close eye on. As soon as I saw one of her pieces I knew she would be a perfect fit. Because I was looking for a unique size and color scheme, I knew it would be likely I would need to have something commissioned. I decided to hold off and just keep an eye on her new pieces should anything catch my eye. Then one day she posted that one of her pieces had been pinned by HGTV designer Emily Henderson. I sort of freaked out and told Jeff I had better pull the trigger before she got any more popular and her prices went through the roof. And so began my commission. The process involves a brief survey requesting more information about likes/dislike/wants/wishes, etc. What room will it be in? What colors do you want to see? What do the surrounding rooms look like? Photos of the room, house, etc. I told her I wanted pink and a lot of it. I also wanted gold, bits of black and a little blue since the color has definitely managed its way into my home despite my dislike of it (I'll have you know it's growing on me!) The process is pretty lengthy, probably 6 weeks or so - but the lamps I am adding to my living room will be arriving right about the same time, so it will be fun to pull it all together. Here's a shot of the lamps: So the first step from my artist is to receive a sketch of the painting. Basically a good gist of what the painting will look like, the color palette, overall feel she is going for. I received this last night and was speechless. It's beautiful! The only problem? It's portrait orientation and I had envisioned landscape. So, she's working to revise it as we failed to communicate on that front in the beginning. Here's a close up of it: I really do love it. I feel that if I saw it in a shop, I would snatch it up instantly. The glitter is for real too - actual fine gold glitter applied to the painting. There is an extensive sealing process that goes on afterwards to make the painting last a literal lifetime, so I love the idea even more knowing it won't be making its way all over my house. Anyway, the next layer I'll be adding to my dining room right around painting time is black windows. That's right, I'm painting all of my 'common area' windows black (basically no bedrooms or basement). Here's a few inspiration images: So you'll notice the trim stays white and only the window panes themselves are black. I've already had my painters out to give me an estimate. Because I want them sprayed and not brushed, I have to wait until it's 50 degrees out. So likely looking into April before this little project gets underway. But - I'm excited at the thought of it - especially with the bits of black in the painting.