My word for today?   ENCOURAGEMENT

This was me, 2 years ago, at my first ever solo gallery showing.  Pictured with me is the girl from my painting, wearing the same dress she was wearing in the bespoke portrait hanging on the wall behind.  Her mom took a leap, and submitted the photo to my first big event to launch my art career.  It was my inaugural National Dog Day Photo Contest, a Facebook event held during the dog days of summer 2017.

The image of Sheriff and Blue caught my attention, not only because of the simplicity of its composition, but the amazing light the two figures were bathed in.

Some people would argue that this would be a simple piece to create, but  the intricate details in the light silhouetting the figures, as well as the shadows and values of the image made it anything but simple.  

The original photograph showed a grassy yard with more details.  I wanted to focus on the light and the shadows of the figures, so I opted to blur the background colors and create a summery green and blue gradient of color that would bring attention to the figures.

Fast forward to the night of the gallery opening.  We had drinks, and food, and lots of people, friends, family, people who participated in the contest, and people who were downtown for the Alternating Currents Festival, of which our event was part of!  To top it all off, it was National Dog Day too!  All 10 of the giant portraits I created from my favorite images of those submitted were on display, and anyone who came to the event could vote for their favorite portrait.

Guess who won?  Sheriff and Blue won the popular vote, and just a few months later, that little girl's momma got to take home the original painting of Sheriff and Blue.  

Now, 2 years later, the painting of Sheriff and Blue is making an appearance in an international magazine!  I am honored to tell you that the image made it into The Art Edit, for House and Garden Magazine. 

The moral of my story?  Take a leap of faith every now and then, and good things just might happen.  Maybe not in the time frame you imagine, but in the right time, if you keep pushing forward, one step at a time, and never give up.  Had I not been encouraged by my family, friends, and CoWorkQC the catalyst for The National Dog Day Contest, I might not be talking about being in House and Garden Magazine today!

ENCOURAGEMENT...a word to live by for oneself and for the kind of presence one should have in their walk through life with others.

Check out #31 below!