It’s May! One of my favourite months of the year – partly because it finally feels like Spring and partly because it’s my birthmonth. Also, I get double celebrations because of Mother’s Day. Appropriately, the story behind this month’s painting is a lovely tale of a mother and a daughter. I hope you enjoy it! [Note: I recognize that Mother’s Day can bring up a range of emotions. If you find this a difficult topic, please take care of yourself and feel free to skip this post.]
A few years ago, my collector had commissioned me a piece for her mother as a Mother’s Day gift. They both loved it and when my client herself had a baby, she reached out to ask if I could create a piece for her daughter’s room. She enjoyed the look of a triptych (three panels making up one piece) and requested that the image be of clouds with a multicoloured theme as a reflection of the meaning of their child’s name.
My client gave me a lot of artistic freedom and as we explored options, we landed on this ethereal, dreamlike cloudscape. It was super fun for me to paint and the colours were delightful to work with. As a finishing touch, I added in some iridescent violet to add to the feeling of uniqueness. The iridescent sections would shimmer at certain angles under the light and made it feel extra magical.
The title, “Magic Minutes,” was provided by my client as it was a phrase with special meaning in their family. I thought it was more than appropriate for this piece! My hope is that whenever my client and their child sees this painting, they would be brought to a place of delight and be reminded that they are loved.
It was such an honour to be asked to create this piece for my client’s child and I never cease to be amazed when parents request custom artwork for their children as an expression of their love. It is truly so special!
For those with the Scripture calendar:
The verse paired with this month’s painting is from Isaiah 49:15 (NLT) which reads, “Can a mother forget her nursing child?… Even if that were possible, I would not forget you!” What a comforting declaration of unfailing Divine love. I don’t know what your relationship with your own mother is, but I find it so reassuring to know that God would never forget us.
Questions for reflection, if you want to go deeper: Looking at this piece and knowing that it was as gift from parents to their little child, can you feel the delight in it? Thinking about yourself as the child of the Divine Parent, how easy is it for you to see yourself as delighted over? How can you lean more fully into God’s delight in you this month?
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As always, I love to hear from you! If something in this story resonated with you, if you’re interested in commissioning a painting, or if you have other thoughts, feel free to email, or connect with me.