{ let's create } commissioning a painting

Do you have a space on your wall that's just screaming out for a piece of art, and you know in your mind what you want, but you can't find it anywhere? Well, why not ask an artist to create a commissioned piece especially for you! Don't be afraid to approach your favourite and make your special request. In my experience with commissioning paintings, not only do you get the exact piece that you want, but the artist doesn't charge any more for a commissioned piece.

A few weeks ago, I won this beautiful painting by Susan Bailie in her Facebook art auction:

Wonderland 5 by Susan Bailie

There was another painting that I bid on too, but somebody else won it:

Wonderland 2 by Susan Bailie

As much as I love the painting that I won, I couldn't get the one that got away out of my mind. So I asked Susan if she could create a similar painting for me, and she she's be happy to :-)

The starting point was Wonderland 2. Susan couldn't create an exact replica of the painting, but she used it as a guideline to create my painting. I love the colours in Wonderland 2, so those are the colours that Susan used. But she created a completely different look with the foil and a different texture with the paint. A few weeks later, Susan e-mailed me a picture of the finished painting:

Wonderland 6 by Susan Bailie

Super-pretty! Except in my mind, I had envisioned it having more turquoise. I went to Susan's house to see the painting in person, and although it was really hard to tell Susan that it wasn't quite what I had in mind, she told me to be 100% honest. So I asked her if she would be able to add some turquoise between the purple on the bottom and the green on the top. Susan said it wasn't a problem at all, and a few days later she sent me this picture of the modified painting:

Revision 1 - Wonderland 6 by Susan Bailie 

Oh yeah, now we're talkin'! Doesn't the turquoise just bring the painting to life? :-) I asked Susan to add just a bit more turquoise, and voila...

Revision 2 - Wonderland 6 by Susan Bailie 

PERFECTION!

I'm beyond thrilled with my new painting :-) It's exactly what I wanted, and I like it even better than the painting that inspired it. A huge thank you to Susan for being an absolute pleasure to work with. As I mentioned, it was hard to tell her that the first incarnation of the painting wasn't quite what I envisioned in my mind. But she was totally cool with it and wanted to make sure that I was totally happy with my painting. Which I most definitely am :-)

A pseudo-time lapse of the evolution of Wonderland 6...

If you're in the Ottawa area, you can check out Susan's art at The New Art Festival the weekend of June 2nd and June 3rd in The Glebe. We have lots of talented artists here in the city, so let's get out there and show them some love! And next week I'll be featuring Susan and more of her work here at DTTD, and there might even be a little somethin' for you to win... stay tuned for that!

On a completely different note, tomorrow I'm heading to TO with half the TBBs to attend BlogPodium on Saturday and for some serious retail therapy. I've had a West Elm gift card burning a hole in my wallet for 1-1/2 years, it's time to put it to good use! I'm looking forward to seeing my blog friends again, meeting some blog friends for the first time, and making new blog friends :-)

if the credit card’s a-rockin’… somebody stop me, please!

Today’s post brought to you by Kelly

Somebody, please, take my credit card and hide it far, far away from me. It’s been on fire the last couple of weeks. I mean, we’re talking seriously hot. MELTING even. See, this is why I have to do the inexpensive DIY projects – I can’t afford to actually buy any more stuff, ‘cause I’ve spent all my money on other stuff ;-) Like…

I bought this vintage walnut dresser from Tribute Decor. As soon as I saw the picture, I had to have it. Mind you, I don’t have anywhere to put it, but why let that stop me? ;-)

I love the shape, the grain of the wood, and the unusual drawer pulls. It’s all just so… sexy! This baby definitely WON’T be getting covered in chalk paint. Although I think I’m going to refinish it and give it a less orange & less glossy finish. And hubby wants to replace the legs with something chunkier. A few people have suggested using it as a bar in the eat-in end of our kitchen – maybe :-)

Last week, I discovered a new-to-me artist in Ottawa, Susan Bailie. It just so happens that she was in the midst of holding an art auction to raise money for a local restaurant, the Lindenhof – which is the place where hubby proposed with a pretend ring in a Kinderegg {long story for another time!}. So I had no choice, I had to bid on a painting {or two or three}. I’m now the happy owner of Wonderland 5 :-)

Not only does Susan create awesome artwork, she also works her magic in home decor, creating amazing wall treatments. I’ll be posting an interview with Susan soon and there’s going to be a giveaway too, so stay tuned for that!

And speaking of art… my friend, abstract artist Matt LeBlanc, just finished painting a big & beautiful painting for my family room. He gave me the honour of naming her, with the one “rule” that the name could only be one word {that’s how Matt rolls!} After a lot of thinking and inventing weird words, I came up with the perfect name – AQUA. It’s the colour, it’s water, and words with Q in them are just cool :-)

I bought some great fabric in Toronto back in January {see, always shopping!} and Faye Fortune Drapery turned it into awesome valances for my family room. They’re just what I envisioned – thanks to Faye’s daughter Heather, who was able to figure out the look I was going for with all my non-technical terms and descriptions :-)

Does the blue pleat look like a sailboat to you? Or am I just weird?

My glass float hobby has become a bit of an obsession – I just can’t get enough of them! I’m a bit of a stickler for buying only authentic working antique glass floats, but when I saw this baby at HomeSense for $39.99, I had no other option but to buy it. Really. If I’d walked away, it would have rolled off the shelf and followed me home.

I’ve also got my eye on these beautiful authentic glass floats from lightinawormhole on Etsy. I really should narrow them down to my favourite two or three, but each of them is one-of-a-kind and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Which one(s) would you choose?

For those rare times that I’m not using my credit card, I need somewhere to put it. I picked up this teal leather purse at the Originals Craft Show a couple of weeks ago. It’s the perfect size and style, and I love the colour more and more every day :-)

And to top off my crazy spending whirlwind, I just mailed off a deposit cheque to PEI this morning – we’re going to the ocean, baby! Well, OK, technically it’s the Northumberland Strait, but it’s a big body of water and we’re going to be living right beside it for a week with our dogs & flyball friends :-)

OK, now I’m putting away my credit card and NOT using it again for at least a month! Right after sushi with the TBBs today at lunch. And after I decide which floats to buy. And… ;-)