My latest commission piece….what a joy to work on! Commissioned by my friend Nelle for her amazing mama, Kate. Since my favorite type of creation is creating art to give to someone, it is equally fulfilling to create something that in turn, someone is excited to give to another. I have met Kate once, but you know how it is when you meet the parent/family member of a close friend, her hug feels familiar and because you can see your friend in her, you know her, too. That’s how I felt when I met Kate.
And I had wonderful themes to work with. Nelle was gracious in spilling out all sorts of yummy bits of inspiration (French flea markets, gardening, antique anything, red, New Orleans, red (yes, red was mentioned twice:) Red Sox games, Vermont, Eric Clapton, country chic, shabby chic, mother of 6 and grandmother of 2). So of course, the poppies- French AND red- became Kate’s 6 luminous children and the bees, her grandchildren. French flea markets also happen to be my favorite thing and I even have a wonderful book on them, so a luxe peruse left me filled with patterns and textures to work with. As for the lace pattern, I have a beautiful, lacy summer robe of my grandma’s that I have joyfully shared in several of my pieces by using the lace to create a stencil (and the robe is still very wearable, it just has adornments of paint now). As for adding the text, “celebrate life” seemed like the right sentiment, of course in French and with a “z” for extra spice.
My favorite reaction from Nelle (who loved it!) was the concerned reaction to the bees: “What about when she has more grandkids?” I smiled, “Then we can add more bees!”
To Kate with love: may you be blessed with many more bees…
Gorgeous, Cata. A new color palette.
Dear Cata,
Fantastic work! Looking at the painting/mixed makes me very happy. Nelle shared your process–you worked well together. “Celebronz La Vie” just draws me in. Thank you, Thank you. It will travel around the house til I find the choice spot…
Much love,
Kate
Kate, I am so happy you like it!! It was a joy to create with our gal Nelle..much, much love to you both!!!
[...] into family transitions, my mother’s passions and even family members as described here in Catalina’s blog post about this piece in her site, “Plate to Palette.” GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); [...]