Dream Commission

CAROLINE'S GARDEN (commission)
30x40, acrylic and oil pastel on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2019

This painting right here...truly a "dream commission"!

I created this painting based on another floral garden I had worked on this past Fall. It is still my favorite garden to date...although this commission right here...vying for top spot in my heart for sure.

Baby Caroline, I'm so humbled that your mommy and daddy come me to create your first piece of original art. I hope you look up from your crib and see a wonderland of whimsical blooms to enchant you for many years to come.

PS-Babies deserve fine art too.

🌸🍼🎀

If there is something special I can create for your precious little girl, don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to custom create something just for her...or you.

AVERY'S GARDEN~COMMISSION

AVERY'S GARDEN
2 12X24, acrylic and oil pastel on canvas 

A recent commission that was a complete joy to create!💙 

Loved working with the tranquil palette of blues, whites, ivories and beiges. A sweet friend of mine told me they reminded her of a "cup of English tea". 

I'll take it.😉

If you'd like something special created for that special (little) girl in your life, contact me and I'd be more than happy to make that happen.

🌷

Softball and Sunflowers....

Softball and Sunflowers
8x10, acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2018

My latest commission. 🌻🐻🐞

For more about this piece click here to read a bit about my creative process. And for commissions/custom paintings, contact me here and I'll do my very best to accommodate you.

Now back to the dozens of other creations I have in the queue. 😊

A little dive into my creative process for my current commission...

when a sweet friend of mine approached me a couple of weeks ago for a custom painting for her niece who loves softball and isn't very "girly", I immediately thought-this probably isn't the commission for me. It seems my work has gone down a much more "girly" path both subconsciously and consciously. Definitely a true reflection of the artist. 🎀

Despite the internal struggle of not wanting to say not to a friend for fear of not being able to do her request justice, I took it as a challenge of sorts. I knew that the jersey number was 12 and that the university colors are maroon and gold. Of course, my vision didn't include a jersey with the number 12. I was thinking some sort of whimsical dress, as usual. But wait, she's a tomboy. A dress could be problem. 😔

In that moment, I had to apply the principal that gets me through every single time I run into the creative proverbial "brick wall". Question-what do I do best (or feel I do best)? Answer-whimsical girls, cute animals and flowers. Lots of flowers. Once I get back on that page, the lightbulb goes off. Fast forward to the finished sketch for the painting...

a sweet little mascot of a bear and styling' tee shirt patchwork flare jeans wearing girl. Just chilling' in a patch of 12 sunflowers after their little game of softball. {Note the extra tiny sunflower on her jeans. It's like a baker's dozen. 😉}

Creative brick wall-demolished. Sweet friend-very, very happy.

WINNING. 🐻⚾🌻

A Busy May!!

May proved to be a very busy month and happily so. 😊

Started working on a new series of cute little Chinese girls when another commission came my way a couple of weeks ago. That along with packing some pendants to ship out to a few customers was also another highlight. Thanks so much to Jewelry Affaire magazine for featuring my pendant necklaces in their Spring 2018 issue. Still so grateful for the exposure.

Here are some highlights from the month...

🌸One in a trio of cute Chinese girls WIP🌸

🎀Pendant necklaces available here🎀

🌻Softball and sunflowers commission WIP🌻

Okay, June...let's do this!!

Puppies and Petals....

Emily's Commission
12x16, acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2018

or sleeping puppies and lots of pink roses, to be more exact. My latest commission was a complete dream to paint. So girly. So me. And, I mean, who can resist some cute little sleeping puppies resting on a rose petal dress.

🐶🌸🌸🐶

Making the world a little sweeter...one painting at a time.

🎀

{If you'd like something special created for your little beauty, contact me and I'll do my very best to accommodate you.}

Sleeping puppies and pink rose mountains...

Truth be told. I don't usually share my sketches for commissions until after they are complete paintings. I'm a little superstitious like that. However, it was a request from a friend of mine on Facebook who commissioned me to do a special painting for her daughter's Sweet 16. She wanted to "share" it so I obliged. Helped me conquer my little superstitious fear along the way so I was all for it. 

Puppies, pink roses, blonde hair and brown eyes were the only must haves in the painting. My mind goes right to sleeping puppies on a dress made of rose petals amid large pink rose mountains in the background. Add some whimsical vines and rosebuds (which I have since added to the sketch) and Emily's 16th birthday painting is on it's way to the canvas.

They LOVED the sketch so I will be happily be working on this painting for the next few weeks. Larger scale at 12x16 but I'm super stoked for it.

Sleeping puppies and pink rose mountains...making the world a little sweeter, one painting at a time.

💕🐶🌹🌹🐶💕

heart happy! :)

custom painting
11x14, acrylic on canvas

limited edition prints, matted and framed

the feeling of seeing my art on a child's wall NEVER (and i repeat "NEVER") gets old!! so glad you love your new room, Avery.

if you'd like a custom painting for your little one, contact me and i'll do my very best to accommodate you.

LIMITED EDITION PRINTS (as seen in photo below) are available here.

this right here....

makes me rather thankful for my mally beauty waterproof mascara.

this was too beautiful not to share. it's reviews like this that really humble me to the core. 2016's final commission went over big, i see...and that makes me really really happy. :)

2016's final commission....

was a pleasure to create.

avery's painting-commission
11x14, acrylic on canvas

the sweetest lady came to me requesting a custom painting based on one of my drawings (pic below). it was to be for her ginger haired, december born baby girl. they were redoing her room based on a few prints of my drawings that she purchased (yeah, that happened-a room redo based on MY drawings-huh?!)

so-ginger, december, winter...three of my favorite things. triple win for me. :)

glacia
6x8, graphite/tinted graphite on bristol

BAD BLOGGER!!

{hangs head in shame:( }

crazy last couple of weeks....between a commission, matting and framing prints for some friends who are always kind enough to buy my work for their littles and a pretty intense flare up in my right arm from all the osteoarthritis, radiculopathy, nerve damage and chronic inflammation in my cervical spine (something i know i rarely talk about in this blog) after three neck surgeries. i guess i've always been one to try and not dwell on the not so positive stuff but perhaps it helps others who deal with pain just to follow their biggest and most loved passion. there is (and always will be) a FERAL need in me to create. maybe you have to be an artist to really get it. you just can't live without out. really. so, apologies for the lack of posts but if you know me personally, you know my drive far outweighs my tiny stature. in the words of my favorite Pixar film, Meet the Robinsons, "KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!"

now to what i've been up to (besides the pain)...a sweet commission from one of my drawings (FOR SALE HERE) which i turned into a painting for a sweet little ginger. i will be posting the finished painting as well as offering prints of her very soon! you'll have to check back and see...;)

here are some WIP pics as well as a cute little blue penguin i sketched...just because.

throwback Thursday to one of my favorite drawings....

glacia
6x8 graphite on bristol

and my current WIP/commission.

let me start by saying i always consider any/every commission a blessing but when they are back to back really kind wonderful clients, well that just makes the "blessing" so much sweeter.

a couple of weeks ago the sweetest lady came to me wanting to completely redo her daughter's bedroom based on a few of my drawings (really?! this is really my life?! hashtag-blessed) and wanted this particular drawing turned into a painting because it looks smooch like her adorable little girl who happens to be a "budding artist" herself. i wound up selling her some prints and taking on this commission...painting her ginger haired, december born baby girl (ginger...winter...december...three of my favorite things....destiny, indeed). 

this is and always has been (and always will be) my philosophy...treat your customers like friends, make personal connections with them and they will come back to you time and time again. always staying true to myself...

"Nicole has been absolutely fantastic to work with! She is extremely responsive and has really worked with us to accommodate our special requests. The prints we ordered are absolutely beautiful! She shipped them out quickly and were packaged with great care. Nicole is an amazing artist! When you work with her you don't only get a quality product, you get great customer service. We look forward to working with her again!"

thank you, sara...for your kind words, becoming a "friend" and giving me a really good *excuse* to paint a ginger, winter loving little girl.

*LIMITED EDITION PRINTS OF THESE DRAWINGS AVAILABLE HERE...ONLY THROUGH THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!!

NEW KOKESHI PRINT!!

sakura kokeshi

12x12, acrylic on canvas

©the enchanted easel 2016

had a few requests for PRINTS of my most recent commission since posting her last week (she is kinda cute...). she in NOW AVAILABLE in my etsy shop. 

if you'd like something custom created for your little one, please email me and i will surely do my best to accommodate you.

kokeshi commission!

kokeshi commission
12x12, acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2016

a few weeks ago i had a commission request for a little kokeshi from the sweetest lady via etsy. obsessed with all things japanese/kawaii since birth, well she didn't have to ask me twice. ;) her response to the finished painting made the rest of my year..."That is the cutest thing I have ever seen!! Thank you so much - I am so excited about it. It is perfect colors, perfect sweet girl. Our grandma was Japanese so it means a lot to us to have something to remind us of her!"

{PRINTS AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK!!}

this makes my heart happy....

seeing my work hanging in a child's room. the joy never gets old. 

never.

commission for Collin
11x14 acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2016

DECEMBER DISCOUNT DAYS...DAY 13!

30% off this PRINT of a commission i did earlier this year...of a boy and his pocket protecting little buddy. perhaps frogs love cookies too....;)

DECEMBER DISCOUNT DAYS...DAY 12!

today's FEATURED PRINT....all Saturday long!

{happy weekend, friends! :)}

happy birthday to this legend!!!

starry eyed mickey
12x12 acrylic on canvas

i debated whether or not to *share* this on my blog (as you won't find it on my website or my public facebook page) because it's disney and we all know how disney is with their characters/copyrights (rightfully so). however...

after some dark days recently in the world (and the fact that it is this legend's birthday today) well, i thought i would brighten up the times with some COLOR and HAPPINESS! i mean c'mon, how can you not SMILE when you see Mickey Mouse?! :)

***{i am NOT a fan of painting other people's characters, especially so spot on, for obvious reasons although i know people do it all the time. this was a special request from a friend who is a HUGE Mickey fan. my head is overflowing with ideas for my own work so therefore i am NOT taking commissions for things such as this. anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me for something special...be it a custom painting or drawing. i'd be more than happy to accommodate you.}***

this guy though...not too shabby for 87, eh? ;)

all you need is love....

doesn't matter what shape, size and/or color.

this piece was a commission from a friend of mine whose daughter i taught a few years back. a bot more about their story here.

it's always a cherished moment when someone calls upon me for a custom painting. it's an even bigger treasure when it's a friend. this piece was truly a pleasure to create. 

i am offering a LIMITED amount of prints which can be found here.

onto another commission...:)

bad blogger lately....

but for a good reason. :)

have been super busy working on a special commission for the family of a little girl i once taught almost ten moons ago. (yikes, feeling old!)

the mom came to me asking for a custom painting based on the gorgeously illustrated book entitled, "motherbridge of love". in a nut shell, it's a sweet book about adoption...east meets west (u.s.a. and china).  well, i couldn't have been happier to put my spin on parts of that beautiful book.

just about wrapping up this painting this week and i'm so looking forward to presenting it to them. such a lovely mother and adorable daughter, they are....:)