When my husband and I made the official decision to move from Houston to Las Vegas I decided that I wanted to make gifts for all of my dear friends to remember me by. They have truly been great friends and although I’m hoping they will visit us in Las Vegas it just won’t be the same as drinking cocktails on the patio while the kids swim or celebrating holidays in Galveston.
Holly and Clay
They were the first people that we really bonded to as a couple. It seems like most of the time either the men get along or the women, but not usually both. With them we all became friends. So I wanted to paint them as one entity. One night while we were hanging out at their house down the street from ours I took the photo of them tangled up on the love seat that inspired this little painting.
Cate and Daniel
We met them around the same time as Holly and Clay. Cate and I are kindred creative spirits. They are both ridiculously attractive and talented people who serenade one another with guitar and ukulele while cooking dinner in the evenings. If I didn’t love them so much I would probably hate them. I wanted to portray them with cheesy perfection like Marie and Donny Osmond. Even though they were siblings and not married, it still fits because Cate once told me that it turns out her and Daniel are fifth cousins. Hahaha.
Maria and Gabe
Maria and Gabe are my Mexican friends that neither speak Spanish or actually descend from Mexican families. They are Columbian and Native American but she says it’s easier just to let everyone assume they are Mexican. They have made us and our children feel loved, fed, and entertained. In the early years of their marriage they were truckers in the western United States. I would like to have painted their faces on the side of a big rig wearing royal robes and crowns…but a simple sketch will fit better on their wall.
She told me she wants to get a tattoo that says “Sincera” which means nice, or sincere in Spanish and a skull. Such a combination of sympathy and pain is a good description of her sweet soul as well as her occupation. Since she is such a fan of vintage pin up/goth girl style, I decided to do a caricature of her. Maybe someday it will need a tattoo added.