We've Been Immortalized

Month o' Alyson is still in full force. I keep buying random things, saying it's for a birthday even though it was a few weeks ago. I think I will be revisiting this notion of a month of birthday every year. It will be a nice respite to have during the closing days of winter. Something to look forward to.

One thing I knew I wanted way before my birthday was a family portrait painted by Heather from Audrey Eclectic. Ever since I found her blog, I've been a big fan of her art. It's very haunting and has a lovely primative, folk art feeling. It's so beautiful.

Several weeks before my birthday, I sent her lots of photos of us, including this one:


(Photo taken around Christmas time in our backyard)

I told her that I wanted a very New England feel to the background and she did an amazing job. Once she sent me the email with photos of the finished product, I was in love and was excited to have it in my grubby little hands immediately.

I was not disappointed when the lovely piece arrived. The kids couldn't stop staring at it. It's a lovely heirloom piece that they'll have to fight over when we're gone. ;)

I didn't know where I wanted to place it. I tried it over one of our fireplaces, but amongst the brick the painting didn't pop. It became lost in the all the brick. Well, I didn't want to put it on some random wall that didn't get much viewing. But, finally, I found the perfect place! It sits in our dining room, which is appropriate since we gather there most often as a family. It is also a high traffic room since we walk through it to go to so many other rooms.



Heather paints on wood. She does a collage on the wood and paints over it. It gives it such depth and interest.



I just adore the lighthouse! This scene is totally New England.



Look at the detail. She adds copies of old photos within the collage. So cool!
I also asked her to add an old church and graveyard since we (especially I) enjoy looking at old gravestones. I love the history of them.


Here's the church and graveyard, very tastefully done

I think that this was definitely the highlight of my birthday month. Something I will always treasure. Let's just say if my house were on fire and I knew everyone was safe, this would be one of the first things I would grab.

Go visit Heather on her blog. She has such beautiful things to look at.

For now, I'm onto my next birthday adventure...