As I child, I always had a big to-do list, like, “make sure to write thank you notes to all the firefighters,” and “paint more rocks to sell at the entrance of the subdivision.” My resources were limited with rocks as canvases at that time, but that didn’t stop my creativity. Now as a professional, I’ve found that various canvases make for much better painting surfaces. Krista contacted me after seeing her friend’s portrait of her dog, Sugar. Kelly loves her painting of Sugar, and I love the tulips in the background. “Could you paint some peonies?” She asked. The peonies are for her friend, whose sister died last year. Peonies were her favorite flower. Krista said that she was thankful for my patience and sensitivity to a subject that is difficult for her, but still asked questions so that I could create the perfect picture for her. When you are chatting with someone over coffee and they mention that it’s difficult to find a meaningful gift that lasts longer than flowers, introduce them to me, Amanda Hamilton Fine Art.