As an artist, the finest reward is when a collector sends an email, a card, or a message, that clearly shows how much they love a painting they have purchased or commissioned. I especially love when that collector sends a photo of where the painting is hanging in their home. I have received emails like this on a number of occasions, and they are keepers. I was going through old emails and trying to lighten the load in my email app, and that is when I ran across this particular email from a woman in New Hampshire whose husband purchased the painting for her for a surprise Christmas gift in 2017. I wanted to share this email, and let my readers know that as much as artists like myself appreciate your patronage, and your purchase of our creative work, your emails and messages and cards and letters mean so much, and especially when you include a photo of our work of art displayed in your home. It’s the little things and the kind words that provide the greatest validation for any creative artist, visual artist, crafter, sculptor, and others.

And this was the email I ran across from 2017 …

December 30, 2017

Hi there Susan….

I am the lucky lady that received your garlic painting for Christmas! (Well, with some hinting.) It is hanging in my kitchen where I can see it all day. My kids marveled at how appropriate the subject is because I put garlic in just about everything I cook. But that is not why I fell in love with the painting and kept looking at it for a couple of years, I think. The color-play of the opal-ly blue gray against the warm colors of the garlic is striking and a combo that I’m attracted to. I love the light you gave it to elevate a humble subject. The only reason I waited so long is that we recently moved from a traditional home with lot’s of walls  (and art) to an open-concept house with almost no wall space. I have all but run out of room to hang things! But this is perfect, and I hope you approve…

(Just so you know, the cabinet door does not hit the painting!)

You’re probably wondering how someone from New Hampshire found your site, but I can honestly say that I have no idea! During a sleepless night, it just suddenly appeared on my iPad screen in August of 2012. We had just sold our home of 23 years…. one we had designed and built, and where we raised our 2 daughters. Our kids were grown and on their own so we decided to move an hour away to a small resort town where most of our family lives.  The plan was to build a new (and insulated) home near our aging parents and extended family. We owned an old cabin there that my folks had built in the 60’s, right on Lake Winnipesaukee.  Our primary home sold in one week in a market that kept homes for sale for years. After recovering from shock, we scrambled and moved to the cabin first, cleaned 50 years worth of ‘stuff’ out, stripped it, and had it torn down. After that is a blur because we spent the next 18 months in a series of tiny rentals, sometimes moving our household month to month (with an elderly dachshund and two cats)….. all while trying to make decisions and oversee the new place being built in the cabin’s place. It was kind of a nightmare, and I was throwing myself a little pity party in the middle of a sleepless night. And then I began to read your story.

The grace with which you seemed to handle all that was going on in your life was humbling. Your husband’s search for a job, the multi-generational family you care for, your daughter’s very scary health crisis….. all while maintaining a blog and a lovely website. And….turning out solidly good paintings. I admired your grace and grit. And I followed the blog posts until they stopped appearing. I check back from time to time, just to see if there’s a post and it’s always a nice surprise when there’s a new one. I was hoping that the site didn’t disappear before I had the chance to purchase one of your paintings!

Did I mention that I’m a quilt maker? Maybe that’s how I found your blog. (Love your mom’s quilt, by the way.) I still occasionally make a bed quilt, but my focus is on art quilts. I’m an annual participant of the Alegre Retreat in Colorado, take every technique class possible, and am a member of the Women’s Caucus for the Arts here in NH. It’s inspiring to meet with artists who work in different media… painters, sculptors, print makers, etc. I also exhibit with a small fiber art group that gets together monthly. In my last home I had to borrow workspace in the family room or dining room. When my current home was being built, I boldly claimed the room above the garage as my sewing room. My own space! With a door! And a lock! Don’t get to spend as much time there as I’d like, but now is our ‘hibernation season’, so hopefully tomorrow I will get up there and get some work done!

Anyway, thanks so much for sending the painting and packing it so well. It came through beautifully. I just love it, and we will enjoy it for a very long time.

My very best to you and your family,
Happy New Year!
Lynn E…

There are good people out there, and those that take the time to show their gratitude and appreciation for others, their work, their art, their craft, their writings or poetry, are particularly special people. And … thank you Lynn, for this email you sent me at the end of 2017. It meant a lot to me then, and means so much to me now … and always.