Houses

I have fallen in love with houses. I've always been a little bit in love with houses- the architecture, the shapes, the colors, and the textures- it's a designer's paradise.

At the end of June, I purchased a home of my very own in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After looking at about 12 houses, all seemingly cookie cutter, bland, boring, basic... I found The One. Or, I thought it was The One. I put an offer in and was amongst 6 other bidders, and I lost it. I didn't think any other home could possibly compete with the home on Prestwick- with it's wrap around front porch and pristine, fenced-in back yard.

Until I found the real The One. It had everything I made sure to exclude on my list of wants- it was an unfamiliar zip code, a lot larger than I thought I wanted, a style that I never would've imagined, and a basement with a half semi-creepy unfinished part. This home was old, too. I never imagined myself being in an old house. I always wanted NEW. But, this was it! A home like I didn't know I could even score for my first home. Weren't first homes supposed to be black holes of bleak, dispair, never-ending updates?

After fawning over this home online, I decide to drive through the neighborhood. I needed to decide if it was rea

lly worth asking my real estate agent to show it to me. After an almost 30 minute drive, I stumbled upon what quickly became my favorite neighborhood in the city. An old neighborhood, tighlty knit community. Bustling with homes of many different styles, sizes, colors, you name it! It was a dream come true. A paradise for the eyes in what I thought was a cookie cutter future for me.

The next day, I had an accepted offer.

Falling in love with the home was the first step. Then came finding out I got to deal with some spectacular sellers, too. After years of horror stories, I got to enjoy a relatively peaceful escrow period. My sellers weren't demanding, and were kind when we demanded an extra inspection on the electrical, at m

y father's insistence. I'm still in awe of how I managed to find both a house I truly love, and sellers that made the whole process just enjoyable.

I knew that the home I was purchasing was my seller's first home, too. They were a young couple with a fresh baby of only 2 months at the time. I wanted to do something for them to commerate their first home, although at the time I was pretty short on funds (who knew buying a home costs so much?!), so I opted to illustrate their home for them.

I commissioned myself to create a digital portrait of their house, something that I had never done before. I wasn't even sure if I could do it. I surprised myself, and challenged myself, and in the end, I realized that I really love homes, and I really love making home portraits. I had never really tackled nature or landscaping before, and while I am definitely finding my style and what works for me, I love what I did for them.

All of this to say, I am now accepting home portrait commissions. A perfect gift for parents, children, siblings... anyone with a special place they call home. Let me help seal the memories in a long-lasting gift they're sure to love!