The series of paintings that were ultimately installed in the new Pike and Rose development in North Bethesda, Maryland started with a “one shot” opportunity.  In the fall of 2016, after two and half years of not painting, I was anxious to get back to my brushes, a sentiment I had shared with my friend and mentor David Freeberg on a visit to his shop A&D Custom Framing. David had a client who needed artwork for a condominium that had not yet broken ground. The client wanted abstract artwork. David handed me his brushes and paint and gave me one hour to create a piece of abstract art to present to his client.  Slightly panicked, I stared at the blank canvas. The first place my mind went for inspiration was nature, specifically patterns in nature. I recalled the memory of peacock feathers being lazily dragged through the sun-speckled underbrush of a grove trees in Rome during a happy family holiday to Italy in 2007. That imagery inspired Illusions 2016, which won me the commission for Peacock 2017.

It felt like a risky endeavor painting a five-foot by six-foot painting that took three months to create for a building that was not yet complete. I confess to having moments of imposter syndrome during the process of creating Peacock. Thankfully, Peacock is now the first thing you see walking into the lobby of 930 Pike and Rose in North Bethesda, MD. 

Thanks to David’s encouragement and the client’s trust, I was commissioned to create three more pieces of art and worked on two collaborative works of art that are also displayed at 930 Pike and Rose. Reflected Sky II and Rainy Day in Paris II are enlarged versions of Reflected Sky I and Rainy Day in Paris I. The client liked the smaller pieces but needed them to become forty-inch by forty-inch diptychs. This was another first, recreating my original pieces of artwork on a larger scale with completely different dimensions.

David and I worked together on Ancient Ruins and Graffiti Birds. Ancient Ruins was challenging and underwent many revisions before we created something the client loved. I personally preferred the look of the earlier versions of Ancient Ruins but ultimately our job was to fulfill the vision of the client. One of the largest pieces of original artwork I have worked on is Graffiti Birds. Measuring eight-feet by twelve-feet, it dominates the rooftop lobby of 930 Pike and Rose. Due to its’ size and a tight time line to complete the artwork, Graffiti Birds was one of the most physically demanding paintings David or myself have ever created.

The final piece I created for the 930 Pike and Rose is Billiards in Paint, 2018. It hangs in the rooftop billiards room above the billiards table. I studied patterns of billiards play and played billiards with paint across the canvas. If you are interested in learning more about the creation of this piece, click here.

The pieces created for Pike and Rose reignited my desire and helped boost my confidence to pursue art creation as a career. I am eternally grateful to David for his faith in me, my parents for their support, time, and encouragement, and my husband and children for their love and support. It really does take a village to raise a Mom’s career.