R+N = <3
In 2014 I was contacted by a gal in Germany with questions about my Custom Art options. She was particularly curious about my birch trunk series, but also my custom ‘initial carving’ style that I’d done before too. She was most drawn to my ‘Lone Birch’ piece from a few years back (which is 12″x60″), so we initially chatted about doing something long and skinny like that. But after learning how much shipping was going to cost for taller sizes, I suggested we go with a vertical triptych (set of 3) style instead since it would be more compact to ship. She loved the idea, it saved a bundle on shipping costs, and we were both very excited with our new size plan 🙂
Once we went over quotes and size options, we chatted more about the colours, texture, and the style for her & her boyfriend’s initials in the ‘carving’ part of the birch trunk. I sent her a few sketches, she made her selection, and I was on my way painting!
All of our communication was done by email or social media, and even without chatting on the phone or meeting in person we were able to communicate our plan clearly & easily. Once the painting was ready to go, I sent various pictures at different angles to show her the finished texture & sheen:
She let me know that she loved the pictures and couldn’t wait to see the canvases in person! But also that her and her bf were heading out of town for a while, so she thought it’d be best to hold off on shipping til they return (just in case there were any issues at customs, which makes total sense!). So as soon as they returned, I packaged up the paintings in the most intense series of tissue / bubble wrap / cardboard (& repeat!) that you’ve ever seen lol, and it was on its way in the mail!
I have shipped paintings all across Canada and to the US before, but til now not yet overseas! So I was extra excited to send this one out to Germany 🙂 . My FIRST intercontinental order, oh my goodness! I anxiously watched the online tracking information for weeks, and had a smile from ear to ear when I knew the painting arrived safe and sound at last. My client sent me a thank you note as well as a quick snap she took when she was unpacking her paintings earlier this week (bottom right pic below) which I thought was very sweet:
I couldn’t be happier with how this custom set unfolded – my client was wonderful to work with, the painting went smoothly, and thankfully so did the international shipping process lol.
Ps – If you’ve always wanted to carve you & your sweetheart’s initials into a tree trunk but didn’t get around to it or didn’t want to harm the tree, or if you did do it but it’s not readily visible etc (without revisiting the forest regularly lol)… then feel free to contact me about getting your very own custom ‘tree initial’ painting done that you can enjoy all year round in your very own home! 🙂
