Abbotsford Home Portrait

Becky and her husband raised their family of five together in their first home in Abbotsford, B.C. Mid-2021 they sold their house after more than ten years of living there. That amount of time — living and loving a home into your special place, reflective of your values and style — really carves out something special, and it's pretty heart-wrenching to give up.

Once their home sold, and reality started to set in, Becky contacted me to do an 8 x 10, so they could forever remember their first house and hang it in their new place. She asked if I could incorporate the family playing casually in the front yard. The kids — twins, a younger brother, mom, dad, dog + cat (the whole family!) was important to include in order to represent their years there together. I was all in.

Becky sent through some reference photos. I loved the tree present in the front year, which I chose to include, as it nicely framed the house. As I was nearing the end of the painting process, and was getting ready to add in the sky, I paused; I thought a blue, sunny sky would clash with the more muted blue of the house. I liked the idea of doing a grey sky, but always best to double check. So I called. Turns out, we were completely on the same page. Aside from possible colour clash, Becky also felt a cheery sky wouldn't accurately match the sadness present in saying goodbye to such a meaningful place; in short, the grey was appropriate for a few reasons.

When I delivered the painting, Becky very kindly wrote a post on her socials about the commission:

"I trusted [Katrina] to use her artistic discretion to create something beautiful. All I asked was that it was “playful and candid," the tent trailer removed from the driveway, and that both our animals were included. She nailed it.

I did this for myself. As a way to honour the past and help me grieve the loss and also prepare for a new part of the story.

Now this painting will be hung somewhere in our new home where we can give it a nod of remembrance and thank it for being there for us in the beginning."