Recently I sold an original painting about sisters, and the person that bought it wanted another one, this time with a son and two daughters. I was happy to oblige!
I don’t make a lot of “guy prints” because mostly I paint girls. But I get asked about them all the time when I do craft fairs, so I’ve started branching out. I made this “Brothers” one recently, and I was happy to make another guy for this particular commission painting.
I pictured a big brother standing proudly next to his sisters. That’s how it began.
I mean, really, having brothers to me (me, who grew up as an only child) means you have big brothers. It means you have a guy who loves you all your life and will help protect you and care about you. That’s my dream, anyway, so I put that intention into this painting.
I started with acrylics and layers and added oil sticks and paper.
The whole time I was working on this painting, I kept thinking about the song “Sons and Daughters” from the Decemberists. Have you ever heard this song?
The first time I heard it was actually on The Office, when the Shrute family sang it.
Every time I do a commission, I just want the person to like it. No, I want them to LOVE it. I just want them to be happy with it and love it. So I’m always a little nervous during the first reveal.
I texted a picture of the final version to the buyer and they texted me a shot of their picture wall where they were going to hang it. They already loved it and had a place for it.
How cool is that?
When I dropped it off, only one of the daughters was home (cuz kids are busy, ya’ll!) and I loved that they posed in front of their “family” sign and that they were so happy with it. It blessed me so much.
