Know anyone who begrudgingly gets out of bed on Monday morning, only to face a week at a job they can’t stand, simply trying to get to the next weekend, and ultimately to retirement? Functioning only in drone mode, walking through the day on automatic pilot, getting no particular reward from what they do other than a paycheck at the end of the month?
Of course. We all know someone who fits this description, and perhaps we’ve all been in jobs where this description fit perfectly (and painfully).
Well, I count myself as one of the luckiest people on earth, because I LOVE what I do. I get up in the morning, and I’m anxious to get to work, and I thought I’d share with you why.
As I write this, I just returned from a conference of some of the top photographers in the US and Canada. Known as the Wall Portrait Conference, this gathering brings together a group of people who are passionate about creating beautiful, heirloom quality wall art telling the story of God’s most incredible creation – the family.
It was unseasonably cold and even snowy in Yakima, Washington, where the conference was held, but we still had a number of sessions outside.
One afternoon, while we were all circled around the fire for warmth, we had the opportunity to share the story of our most poignant and memorable opportunities to create wall art for our customers.
Interestingly, many of the stories were personal. Many were very poignant, some were very joyful, but each touched my heart, reminding me why I’m in this business, and I wanted to share them with you. (Beware, some of these are very heart tugging).
One of our members shared how he had taken the opportunity to create a beautiful portrait of his sister, her husband and their daughter. Down by a lake, the very young daughter held in the arms of her father, he described the setting in great detail, and we could all picture it in our minds. It sounded beautiful, but to this point, fairly typical.
Then, he went on to tell us, two months after the portrait was created, the father and daughter were killed in a tragic automobile accident. We all had tears in our eyes as he told us they were buried together in the same position in which they had been in the portrait (again, my eyes are moist as I write this).
Another of our members shared an actual wall portrait that had been created of her and her son, who looked about 2 or 3 years old. It was beautiful, the two of them exploring the beauty of the cherry blossoms. She then showed us another gorgeous portrait of the two of them walking through a beautiful field of tall grass together. Absolutely gorgeous, and you could tell by simply looking at them of the love that existed between the two.
But she went on to tell us that here children had been adopted, and shortly after these were created, she lost her children to their birth mother. She had to give up her children, and these portraits are all she has left. They are valuable beyond words, beyond any amount of money.
Again, we had tears in our eyes as she told the story (photographers are an emotional group).
But not all the stories were sad. Some were very joyous.
Another of our members told of a portrait of his family taken 20 years ago that still hangs in a spot of honor in their home. It’s a beautiful portrait, taken in the snow, showing their entire family at a very joyous time in their lives. It hangs in their dining room, where his wife can see it clearly and proudly from her kitchen, where she spends a lot of time (she’s a wonderful cook).
Nothing unusual about this, but in the 20 years that have passed, there’s been a number of members added to the family, and of course, being in the business, he could create a new one each week if he wanted. But his wife won’t even THINK of replacing this particular portrait with a new one, because of the wonderful memories this particular time elicits every time she looks at it, which is often.
I shared one of my favorites, taken when I was very first getting interested in this business. It was of my 93 year old grandfather, and my 3 year old daughter, sitting in a rocking chair in my living room, him reading her one of her favorite stories. Pappa-Pappa, as she called him, was my best friend as when I was a little boy, and my daughter was the apple of my eye, so here were two of my very favorite people in the world together in one portrait.
Now, at this point, I didn’t know much of what I was doing, so technically, it was not so great. But emotionally, it’s perfect, and it hangs in my family room, where I see it every day of my life.
My grandfather has long since passed away after a wonderful live of 96 years, and my daughter is now married and living in Italy. I see here about once a year, but every time I look at this portrait, I get a wonderful feeling, and I remember how much I love both of them. This portrait gives them a daily presence in my life.
We carry this same passion as we create the story of our customer’s lives as well. We understand that every family has these kinds of relationships, these kinds of memories. We also know that since none of us is immortal, there will come a time when all those we love will no longer be with us on a daily basis.
But the beautiful wall art I get to create on a daily basis will serve as a constant reminder of the love and bonds that exist between each of our customers and those who are or were a part of their most perfect work of art – their family. It will hang in our customer’s homes for years to come, and provide that constant presence of those they love the most as well. And then, it will become a family heirloom for future generations.
And it’s with that understanding, that emotion, that passion, that we create each family portrait.
Our mission statement is entirely based on the following philosophy:
“When all is said and done, and we come to the end of our lives, the only thing that matters are the people that we loved. No amount of riches or possessions can take the place of the family that made our life complete as we were walking through the journey of life.”
Of course. We all know someone who fits this description, and perhaps we’ve all been in jobs where this description fit perfectly (and painfully).
Well, I count myself as one of the luckiest people on earth, because I LOVE what I do. I get up in the morning, and I’m anxious to get to work, and I thought I’d share with you why.
As I write this, I just returned from a conference of some of the top photographers in the US and Canada. Known as the Wall Portrait Conference, this gathering brings together a group of people who are passionate about creating beautiful, heirloom quality wall art telling the story of God’s most incredible creation – the family.
It was unseasonably cold and even snowy in Yakima, Washington, where the conference was held, but we still had a number of sessions outside.
One afternoon, while we were all circled around the fire for warmth, we had the opportunity to share the story of our most poignant and memorable opportunities to create wall art for our customers.
Interestingly, many of the stories were personal. Many were very poignant, some were very joyful, but each touched my heart, reminding me why I’m in this business, and I wanted to share them with you. (Beware, some of these are very heart tugging).
One of our members shared how he had taken the opportunity to create a beautiful portrait of his sister, her husband and their daughter. Down by a lake, the very young daughter held in the arms of her father, he described the setting in great detail, and we could all picture it in our minds. It sounded beautiful, but to this point, fairly typical.
Then, he went on to tell us, two months after the portrait was created, the father and daughter were killed in a tragic automobile accident. We all had tears in our eyes as he told us they were buried together in the same position in which they had been in the portrait (again, my eyes are moist as I write this).
Another of our members shared an actual wall portrait that had been created of her and her son, who looked about 2 or 3 years old. It was beautiful, the two of them exploring the beauty of the cherry blossoms. She then showed us another gorgeous portrait of the two of them walking through a beautiful field of tall grass together. Absolutely gorgeous, and you could tell by simply looking at them of the love that existed between the two.
But she went on to tell us that here children had been adopted, and shortly after these were created, she lost her children to their birth mother. She had to give up her children, and these portraits are all she has left. They are valuable beyond words, beyond any amount of money.
Again, we had tears in our eyes as she told the story (photographers are an emotional group).
But not all the stories were sad. Some were very joyous.
Another of our members told of a portrait of his family taken 20 years ago that still hangs in a spot of honor in their home. It’s a beautiful portrait, taken in the snow, showing their entire family at a very joyous time in their lives. It hangs in their dining room, where his wife can see it clearly and proudly from her kitchen, where she spends a lot of time (she’s a wonderful cook).
Nothing unusual about this, but in the 20 years that have passed, there’s been a number of members added to the family, and of course, being in the business, he could create a new one each week if he wanted. But his wife won’t even THINK of replacing this particular portrait with a new one, because of the wonderful memories this particular time elicits every time she looks at it, which is often.
I shared one of my favorites, taken when I was very first getting interested in this business. It was of my 93 year old grandfather, and my 3 year old daughter, sitting in a rocking chair in my living room, him reading her one of her favorite stories. Pappa-Pappa, as she called him, was my best friend as when I was a little boy, and my daughter was the apple of my eye, so here were two of my very favorite people in the world together in one portrait.
Now, at this point, I didn’t know much of what I was doing, so technically, it was not so great. But emotionally, it’s perfect, and it hangs in my family room, where I see it every day of my life.
My grandfather has long since passed away after a wonderful live of 96 years, and my daughter is now married and living in Italy. I see here about once a year, but every time I look at this portrait, I get a wonderful feeling, and I remember how much I love both of them. This portrait gives them a daily presence in my life.
We carry this same passion as we create the story of our customer’s lives as well. We understand that every family has these kinds of relationships, these kinds of memories. We also know that since none of us is immortal, there will come a time when all those we love will no longer be with us on a daily basis.
But the beautiful wall art I get to create on a daily basis will serve as a constant reminder of the love and bonds that exist between each of our customers and those who are or were a part of their most perfect work of art – their family. It will hang in our customer’s homes for years to come, and provide that constant presence of those they love the most as well. And then, it will become a family heirloom for future generations.
And it’s with that understanding, that emotion, that passion, that we create each family portrait.
Our mission statement is entirely based on the following philosophy:
“When all is said and done, and we come to the end of our lives, the only thing that matters are the people that we loved. No amount of riches or possessions can take the place of the family that made our life complete as we were walking through the journey of life.”
