Narrative:

We had some dear friends that were preparing to move out of state. A few months before their move, they each came to me individually and covertly (this is a husband and wife by the way) and asked if I would paint something for their new home—something to remind them of their time in Texas. And they both wanted me to keep it a secret from their spouse so it could be a surprise.

What you have to know is that if you ever visited their home, you were definitely going to eat a 5-star meal, drink some great wine, and spend most of the evening talking around their kitchen countertop. That countertop was the center of their home, and I couldn’t think of a better image to remind them of their time well spent in Texas; the hard conversations, the laughter, the baseball games watched, the new recipes concocted, the wine and whiskey enjoyed, and the seasons celebrated around that countertop are memories that Kelsey and I will treasure forever. That’s what I wanted to articulate on the canvas.

When you stand in front of “Treasured,” you can see that countertop, with 3 bar stools in front of it, in gold leaf. The blues were references to other paintings in their house and a glass sculpture that greeted you in their entryway. I used bourbon to strip away the paint in between layers. If I could’ve mixed a red wine reduction into the paint, I would’ve.