Commission a Custom Piece
Bring your memories to life.
A meaningful commission does more than show what someone or somewhere looked like….
It can hold the memory of someone you love.
Honor a place filled with family history.
Celebrate a life’s work.
Preserve a story you never want to lose.
Vine Charcoal Portraits
A custom vine charcoal portrait begins with a photograph, but the finished piece is about preserving the story, connection, and memories that make that moment unforgettable.
Each detail is thoughtfully considered to capture the expressions, relationships, and subtle moments that make your memories uniquely yours.
The result is more than a portrait.
It's a timeless piece of artwork that celebrates the people, moments, and stories you'll treasure for years to come.
Oil Paintings of Meaningful Places
Oil paintings are a beautiful way to honor a home, business, family property, landscape, or place connected to a meaningful memory.
Whether inspired by a single photograph or thoughtfully composed from several meaningful references, each painting is created to reflect the character, history, and significance that make the place uniquely yours.
More than capturing a location, the finished painting preserves the feeling of being there.
It's a lasting reminder of the places that have shaped your life, your family, and your story.
Stories Behind the Commissions
Each work carries its own story.
This is the story of the Big Four Bridge in Sidney, Ohio and the father who worked there in the 1950’s.
A man wanted to give his father something deeply personal — a drawing of the Big Four Bridge in Sidney, Ohio, with the old gas station where his dad had worked as a teenager in the 50s.
The challenge was that the drawing had to bring together different pieces of time. The bridge is still an icon in Sidney. The white gas station is still there. But his father had to be placed back into the scene from years ago, sitting on the car like he did in an old photograph.
I spent hours crafting the reference image, checking the scale, and even had a friend park her car in the right spot and sit on the hood so I could understand the perspective.
When the drawing was finished, his son told me that whenever someone came to visit, his father would walk them over to the drawing and tell stories about when he worked there.
A painting that said Thank you
A farmer walked into my studio carrying a 2-foot buzz saw and a handful of snapshots.
He asked me to create a commemorative painting to honor a priest who had deeply impacted his life. At first glance, the photos were simple moments. But as he shared the stories behind them, the painting began to take shape.
His wheelchair bound granddaughter who had passed away was placed on a swing under an apple tree. The farmer who had survived a life-threatening illness, and his newly married couple all became part of the story.
Piece by piece, the buzz saw became more than an object. It became a tribute to love, loss, faith, and the lives we carry with us.
This is the heart of my commission work: listening to your story, honoring the people and places that matter, and creating a work of art that holds memory with care
That is what I love about commissions. They do more than show what something looked like… They open the door to a story.
If you’re interested in commissioning a piece, click “inquire” below so we can discuss it.
How the commission process works
1. Begin with the story
You will share what you’re hoping to preserve and why the subject matters to you.
This can include photographs, memories, family history, meaningful details, and anything you would like the artwork to hold.
2. Choose the strongest direction
We will look through your photographs together and decide which image, composition, medium, and size will best tell the story.
If the final piece requires several photographs, I may create a new reference composition before beginning the artwork.
3. Create the artwork
Once the composition and details are approved, I begin the drawing or painting.
Throughout the process, I make artistic decisions that help the finished piece feel cohesive, expressive, and personal.
4. Receive a one-of-a-kind work of art
The finished artwork is created to become part of your family story.
It may mark a milestone, honor someone you love, preserve a meaningful place, or become a gift that carries far more than words can say.