holiday 2012

It's very nearly that time of year again!  Annual cards, photos, gifts for neighbors, and lots of egg nog. (Okay, maybe the last one is just on my list...)

I've already had requests for portraits of little ones for gifts for grandparents and designs for stationery for neighbors and it dawned on me how soon December will be here.  Because of this, I sadly have to put a deadline on all custom orders to be delivered in December.  Not only do I need time to produce the wonderful things you've been requesting, but I also need time for shipping.

So, all CUSTOM orders need to be place by November 1st if wanted for December delivery.  This applies to portraits, custom stationery, annual Christmas or holiday cards, and any other fun things you might think of.

All NON-custom orders need to be placed by November 27th.  Ergo, any prints, notecards from the collection, or calendars need to be ordered by this date.  This ensures production and mailing the first week of December.

Please note my schedule is filling up, so if you want custom work done, contact me soon.  Also, new card designs coming for the season after the move!   For further information email me at engquisto@gmail.com

grandma w

Every so often someone will ask me to do a piece for them and I really stutter over it.  Can I do justice to what they want me to capture?  Through these commissions I have grown leaps and bounds as an artist and as an individual.  Those seemingly hard projects are the ones I end up enjoying the most.

About a month ago, an old friend asked me to do one of these for her and her husband.  To be honest, I'm still stuttering over it.  My friend asked me to do a portrait of her mother-in-law.  Deep humility washed over me as the honor of the request sunk in.  I knew her mother-in-law and am still touched by her sweet memory.  This wonderful grandmother passed away tragically a few years ago leaving her family and those of us who knew her with a tremendous void.  She was a remarkable woman.

"I'm not good with realism," I told my friend.  "I can try, but I'm just not as good at it."  My insides were shaking over trying to paint Grandma W.  How can I possibly capture all that I know about her?  How can I capture her love, her faith, and her courage?  I just do doodles...

"You have a happy style.  That's how I want to remember Mom.  I don't want a serious portrait, I want a happy one.  That's why I'm asking you."

My mind recently has been filled with thoughts of motherhood as I seriously contemplate when Mr. F and I will start our own family.  As the days go on, my heart aches for a child of my own.  When I first put pencil to paper to sketch out Grandma W, my eyes filled with tears as my mind filled with memories of her.  I saw her playing with her sweet grandsons, the pride and joy in her eyes for her son.  I saw her as a mother and wife.  A gentle figure, always there to comfort and reassure, so full of love.  I saw the kind of mother I hope to be someday.

I don't know if my painting will ever encompass all I wanted it to but I'm so grateful for this opportunity to remember such a wonderful woman and to have her continue to teach me in her quiet way.  Oh W, we miss you.