Ohio Custom House Portrait

Custom Portrait of an Ohio Home

This elegant Ohio custom house portrait was created as a combination birthday/anniversary gift. The collector and her husband have created a richly textured landscape for their traditional Cape Cod style home over the years. In particular, she wanted to highlight the many ornamental trees and perennials they had planted. To celebrate their life together she commissioned this custom house portrait for him as a surprise gift.

The collector sent me about 5-7 photos of the front of her home. When I’m doing a project long distance, the more photos the better! In the main photo, two different trees completely covered the left side of the house. Because she also sent me detail photos of the flowerbeds and the house, I could see what was behind the two trees. I chose to move one of the trees aside so that we could see the house. As a painter I can work magic, shrinking another tree so that we could see the lovely circular window in the gable of the front wing of the house.  I was able to show off the architectural details of house in a way that photography is unable to do.

Custom Painting: Telling A Family Story

I learned from our back and forth communication that my collector wanted both the US and British flags be included in the painting. In the photo the British flag blocked the view of the front door, so I decided to move it.  It was symbolically important to have the visual pathway towards the front door to feel open and hospitable. The flags represent their family story in their garden, and now in the painting as well.

This sort of  opportunity to get to know my client’s story and learn about their lives is one of the many things I enjoy about painting commissions . I also made a couple of the ornamental trees in front of the house a little smaller so we could see the front door and the front windows better. This Ohio custom house portrait immortalizes everything they love about their home and yard and can also be enjoyed indoors!

Would a custom house portrait be the right gift for your family? Fill out the form at the link below and let’s talk!