The Best Resource to Hire Out Custom Art + Watercolor Portrait

A big thanks to Minted for supplying gorgeous artwork for this post. Affiliate links are provided for convenience.

23 years ago, first grader me wanted to be an artist. I’d climb up in my mom’s lap at the kitchen table and ask her to show me how to draw a tree, how to draw a puppy, how to draw a house.

My mom would say to me, “Sweetie, Mommy draws stick people.” But she tried her best.

And I was so frustrated because my 6 year-old brain said, “Well, try harder!” And then I grew up. You know what I can draw? Stick people.

I’ll choreograph dance routines, sing Carrie Underwood songs in my car, design rooms just for fun, write stories, decorate big tablescapes for holidays, work on growing my photography skills, but art? It’s not in my genes.

So I called in the pros for this one.

I’ve never shown it before, but this is my parents’ house. It’s the house where we’re currently living while Robert, Olivia, and I transition between homes. It’s the house where I grew up and has seen every awkward stage of my life, braces and all.

My mom and dad have done so much for our little family over the years. They let us live with them for a year and a half when Olivia was born and we were financially struggling, and they’ve let us take over their home again these past two months. So to thank them, I found an artist on Minted.com to paint a portrait of their house.

I had no idea until back in January, that you could commission artists on Minted to create original art (and they have a range of budgets if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg), so I scoured their list of artists and discovered Jocelyn Edin who is one of the most talented watercolorists I’ve ever seen.

THIS is what she created:

While my parents were out of town a couple of months ago, I ran out into their front yard and snapped a photo of their house as I schemed this plan. Normally, the trees are full of green leaves and the garden is plush with flowers. But since I had to take the photo in the dead of winter, it looked completely lifeless.

I asked Jocelyn to make it look like summer and remove the trees blocking the view of the house in her portrait. She asked me questions like what were the colors in the rest of the room where the portrait would be hung, and she matched it to the hues I planned to use in their guest bedroom makeover!

The watercolor portrait of their house arrived last week, and I hung it up in my parents’ newly finished guest bedroom as a surprise. I can’t get over how much talent is in this gorgeous piece.

So now the guest bedroom is officially finished! And I’ll be sharing its full reveal next week.

Jocelyn was so sweet to include a small 8×10 version of the portrait as well, so Robert and I can hang a copy of it in our new house. I’m so ready to go find the perfect spot on our walls for it.

Have you ever commissioned an artist before? I know this is one gift that will be passed down for generations in our family. Have you painted a portrait of your own house? Or attempted watercolor? If you’re a member of the Stick People Club, welcome! We have doughnuts. You’re in good company.

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