Placing Happy Art in Happy Homes!

Today's blog is about happiness and how, as an artist, I strive to make the world a happier place. With all of the turmoil going on around the globe and at home in our own backyard, it's sometimes difficult to find that happy place. But that's what I do...create art that brings joy into the world, into the hearts and souls of people who get to see my work on exhibit in galleries and other public spaces and, for collectors, in their own homes and businesses.  As my partner and manager of our Wildflower Art Gallery in Wimberley, my husband joins me in this quest to spread joy and happiness in the world through my art.

To fulfill that goal, David and I offer a "happiness guarantee" on any painting purchase. This is explained in detail on our "services" page but in a nutshell...when you buy a painting from us we want you to be happy with it! In fact, you should love it! To help ensure that we meet that goal, we give you a couple of weeks to live with the painting to make sure that it brings you the joy you were looking for. But there's another step we take when possible to help ensure that the art you select is a right fit for you, your family and your home: Our in-home viewing service.

We've done the in-home viewings many times and it's always a pleasure. But just recently we had two clients take us up on this service and I wanted to share the stories of each visit. They were different but in the end had the same result: Happy Art in Happy Homes!

The first began with a phone call in late November from Jacque, one of my collectors in the north Texas town of Breckenridge. About 3 years ago Jacque had purchased two of my wildflower paintings for her home. She kept up with my news and life as an artist through my newsletters. When the November 2015 newsletter hit her inbox and she got a preview of some of my newest works in the "poppy" series, one in particular spoke to her. She called to see if "Bold-N-Beautiful" was available and, if so, to snap it up. Since I had just completed the painting and it had barely been seen by the public, it was still in my portfolio. Since she knew that I had planned to display it through the end of December in a show of my Poppy-themed florals art titled "Remembrance" at our gallery in Wimberley, she offered to let me exhibit the painting and then ship it to her in January. While shipping would be fine, I told her that David and I would love to deliver it in person so we could get to see her again and to see the painting in its new home. 

Over the next several weeks, I found time to paint in the studio and worked on another poppy painting that was similar but different to "Bold-n-Beautiful." Since she had only seen a photo of the painting she reserved, I decided to take the new one along so she would had two to choose from. Of course, had neither worked for her, I would have arranged for a refund and I made sure she knew that from the beginning. She told me that there was never in doubt in her mind that she would love "Bold-n-Beautiful" even more in person than just seeing the photo.

Last week we made the trip and arrived at her house with both paintings. First, we showed her the painting she had bought and, yes, she loved it. Then we showed her the second painting, which was yet to be varnished or titled, and ...she loved it too. Her first inclination was to stick with just "Bold-n-Beautiful." But after "living" with the new work in her home for few hours during our visit and moving it to different areas, she knew she had to have it, too. So we left the one painting and brought the other back home so it could continue to cure for varnishing in the next few weeks. We're planning to either deliver or ship the painting to her this Spring. Happy Art in a Happy Home!

Even little Charlie the poodle approves of the two new additions to Jacque's personal art collection.

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 The second story I want to share began with family visiting Wildflower Art Gallery to choose a painting for a Christmas present. Actually, it began weeks earlier, when they dined at Kerbey Lane Cafe in Southwest Austin where I had a solo show of my wildflower art on display last fall. When it was time to find that perfect Christmas gift for Pauline (Mom,) Dad and the family made a trip to Wimberley to look over my paintings. I was taking care of other business so David met them and answered their questions. They choose "Garden Delight," a painting that knew that Pauline had seen and really liked at Kerbey Lane. But there were a couple of other paintings they were considering. David told them that he'd be more than happy to bring any of the paintings to Austin where they lived for an in-home viewing when they were ready.

After Christmas, we received an email from Pauline that she would like to see two other paintings. David set an appointment and took the paintings for her and the family to view in their home. While she did really like the painting she received as a Christmas present, the two other paintings spoke to her as well. After seeing how each of them  looked on the walls, she exchanged one of the paintings and chose the other one to add to the collection. The painting she traded "Garden Delight" for is titled "Autumn's Golden Hour" and was, at the time, the newest addition to my Aspen/Birch series. The second painting they chose was "Twilight's Last Dance," from my signature wildflower series.

By seeing the different paintings in the home and in person, they were able to chose just the right ones. Happy Art in Happy Homes!

"Twilight's Last Dance" shows off lovely against the creamy yellow walls of its new home in Austin. Meanwhile, "Autumn's Golden Hour" adds to the ambiance of the living room in the same home.

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I hope that you've enjoyed reading about how these four paintings found their new homes. If you are thinking about making my art a part of your life and if it's practical for us to arrange and in-home viewing, just let us know!