to fly, to prosper, to rise

So, the story of our custom painting!

We work with a guy named Erwin Almonte...he is part of a sister company of our main company. His wife, Ash, is a painter and is showing her work at a gallery in Austin. We went to one show that she had here in Abilene, and really loved her style. We were in our old house, trying to sell...so it just wasn't a good time for us to be buying art.

Once we got settled into our new home, we were thrilled to discover that we had a HUGE empty wall that would be perfect for an Ash painting! So we invited her over to see the space and talk about what we were wanting. We knew we wanted something quite large to fill the space, and 5 foot by 8 foot ended up being the best size. That is LARGE!!!

We talked for awhile, trying to determine what we wanted. We were drawing a blank. Finally, after a lot of deliberation, we decided that what we really wanted was an Ash painting. We didn't want to restrain her or put a lot of labels and limits on the painting she would create. So, we decided to give her free reign!

It took about a month or so for her to deliver the painting to us...along the way, she sent photos of the progress and it was amazing to see how she works in layers, building and changing and growing until her final piece emerged. We were so pleased with the process and with our finished painting. It looks amazing on our wall and has completely finished our space. We now have colors to pull from to finish decorating the living room.

If you are interested, here are a few links on Ash Almonte...her website...and this as well...here...


We loved the in-progress shots we got of Ash painting...thanks to her hubby! I love that she is outside, that she is wearing that suit, that she is sitting on a paint can! This is completely Ash.

When we all agreed that the painting was complete, she delivered it to our house in this trailer. She walked out with the huge painting and almost blew away! You can get an idea of how big it is by the fact that you can only see her feet!

Isn't it lovely?? We are so happy! Ash titled the painting, "To fly, to prosper, to rise"...

It's hard to take photos that really showcase the painting...this one is from as far back as I could get, so you can see how it looks in the room as a whole...

Here is another angle, from the front door...

Thanks to Ash for allowing us to have a part of her hanging in our home...it definitely makes the room!!!!