As soon as Andrew emailed me about a Christmas commission, I couldn't wait to get started. It had all the elements of a project that I love: fun architecture, animals, family, and personal details to fill in the gaps. Andrew's family had rented a house in Martha's Vineyard over the summer and what he wanted was a family portrait that would capture their time together in a fun, quirky, and personal way. Here's the house:
After a brief conversation and a few emails explaining the details (including photos of everyone and their signature traits and features), I sent him this highly detailed draft of how I wanted to build the scene:
This draft, which shows everything from their lobster boil dinner plans to Air Force One flying into town to a niece obsessed with Frozen and a cousin infatuated with Vineyard Vines, and a mom who really loves her white zinfandel, was then discussed wherein we sorted out some details before the real thing was underway. (For example, the alpacas were obviously on the wrong side of the house.)
Here's the process:
Andrew ordered five copies so that all the families included would have their own piece of revisionist history for their homes. And it really lit up my Christmas Eve to get a text from Andrew that said, "You have no idea how much people love it!!! Thanks again Billy!" along with a photo of the reveal:
Thank you, Andrew! It was a ton of fun making this for you and your family and I'm grateful to get to help commemorate such a great time for you all. Merry Christmas!
