Ruoff Mortgage

Working for great people is truly the best thing about making art. This piece was created for a local loan officer who wanted to turn her corporate colors into something fun and vivid to brighten up her new office. When we pulled up her corporate colors - navy, green, silver and orange, my mind instantly went to a peaceful sunset at a lake, surrounded by delicious scented pines and the gentle waves of the shore catching the light, dazzling out silver flashes. I wanted to catch this in a way that also reflected their personality: calming, patient, go with the flow… with a touch of sass ;)

The 24x48 triptych gallery wrapped canvas panels are always one of my favorite to work with, and also the most daunting - the bigger the canvas the less room for error! This one was also a learning lesson - I will admit I had to re-pour this whole piece, while what I had created was okay, I knew I could do better. Sometimes the colors just don’t work exactly how you envisioned and you have to go back to the drawing board and re-invent your recipes for pouring. Second time round I was so glad I re-did it, the colors blended in ways I had never seen before, I think from adjusting my recipe I created more intricate cell work that only usually happens in other types of pours. Of course now I was happy with it, good old Murphys law decided to kick in and a damn moth landed perfectly in the center panel. Let me tell you, I was mad haha. After asking my client if this was a spiritual sign from above, she agreed it was a little too “Silence of the Lambs” for her style, which I totally understood, however, after a good hour scraping the sucker out, and with a bit of silver leaf, it actually created a beautiful silhouette which faded seamlessly with the artwork - I guess that’s what Bob Ross was talking about with “happy little accidents!” I finished the piece by adding a pop of metallic orange along the top edge, and the smallest amount through the white area of the artwork, (trust me when I say navy and orange don’t get along when poured!) which would create a warming reflection to give the final missing element of the “sunset” I had initially thought of.

These beauties now adorn the walls of her office and they told me that they make her smile every time she walks in - I think that’s a W in my books!