I have been wanting a painting of Streak for as long as I can remember, but having one done was always out of my reach. Then along came Nolan and I wanted one of both of them. Throw Paddy in the mix and I just had to have one, but it was still out of my grasp. Then this past winter, I really started looking at the paintings by Karen McLain. I had seen her work before and loved it, but there was no way I could afford to have someone of her caliber paint my boys. Or so I thought. The more I looked at her paintings, the more they spoke to me. Two months ago it hit me that Streak was turning 26 and I knew if I did not do a painting now that I might never have a chance again.
So, I emailed Karen to inquire on what a commissioned painting of my boys would run. I was surprised at how reasonable she was. The size painting I truly wanted was still out of my price range for now, but I knew that I would be happy with a 16 x 20. So I took the plunge and asked her to paint my boys. Karen wanted not only pictures, but an insight to each one's personality and my relationship with them. With all of the pictures of Nolan and Paddy this was not a problem. Unfortunately I did not take many pictures of Streak when he was younger and many of the ones I had taken had been destroyed. Still, I had quite a few of him over the past couple of years. I shared with her stories about each of the boys, how they came into my life, how they interact with one another, their personalities, and how I feel about each one of them.
Then the wait started. I told Karen to paint whatever she wanted to paint. She is the artist after all and I was just someone hungry for a painting of my wonderful boys. Almost 2 weeks ago I received an email telling me that my painting was complete. All I knew was that she had titled it "Harmony". No other insight into what I was about to receive. A week of letting it dry and then finally last week it was sent UPS. I never realized how sloooowwww UPS was. I tracked the package daily (truthfully several times each day) and then finally last night a UPS truck appeared.
I could not get my package in the house quick enough to open. My hands trembled with anticipation as I tried to figure out the safest way to open the box and then unwrap the painting. I was surprised to find two paintings in the box. First I unwrapped the smaller of the two and found a beautiful painting of my boys....I was amazed at how perfectly she had captured them. I noticed a letter in the box and opened it to read before unwrapping the bigger painting. It was a letter from Karen explaining how she included the "study" she had done of my boys and then explained "Harmony" to me. The reason why she had placed each of the boys where she had in the painting and why she had titled it "Harmony". Her reasons were perfect....she had interpreted my relationship with each of my boys and their relationship with each other to a "T". I was sniffling by the time I finished her letter and could not unwrap "Harmony" fast enough.
The first glimpse of my boys and the tears started falling. Somehow through the pictures and stories that I had sent to her, Karen had captured the very spirit of each one of my boys. They shine through the painting and there is no denying that she painted the three horses that mean the most to me, that bring a peace into my life, that brings a harmony to my existence. To say that the painting is breath taking is an understatement. She was able to get their colors down so exact, the shading, even Streak's fuzzy forelock; she was able to capture their very essence. You can tell that she painted with her heart. My painting just jumps off the canvas and has a depth that I never expected.
The more I study "Harmony", the more amazed I am at Karen's talent, her gift. Letting her paint what she felt verses telling her what I wanted was one of the smartest things I have ever done. I am grateful to Karen for taking the time to interpret my boys onto canvas. The work of art I have is something I will treasure for always.
You can see more of Karen's work at http://www.karenmclainstudio.com/ (FYI, pictures do not even begin to convey the depth and emotions that her works truly invoke).
