In trying to come up with the perfect 60th birthday present for her husband Roger, my client Pam was going through the usual checklist of his interests, but was coming up short on the gift idea. As is often the case, Roger already has most of the things he needs to support his interests – which is when Pam started thinking of something Roger could enjoy when he wasn’t doing his favorite things (but wished he was).
Topping the list of Roger’s passions is his sailboat that he keeps moored off the shore of their house in Maine, which was the inspiration for Pam’s idea. Certainly, they can’t always be in Maine enjoying the boat or their house – but what if she did something special to capture the feeling of the house and the boat that Roger could enjoy year-round?
To accomplish this, Pam reached out to have me do a custom painting of Roger’s boat. After looking through some photos, we decided to use an image that captured the view of the boat from the house, with trees framing the view of the boat and the ocean.
Pam shared a number of images, and I combined elements from a few of them to get the best composition while still capturing the feel of relaxing on the porch on a sunny afternoon. Year-round, Roger can now enjoy looking out on the slightly hazy July day and thinking of the day enjoyed on the boat.
Below are the pictures I worked from. The first shows the trees framing the boat, the second has the water with the great light streak in the background and nice reflection in the waves, and the third shows the orientation of the boat that I ended up using.
The shot used for the view through the trees
The shot used for the water and reflection
The shot used for position of the boat
The final painting!
Enjoy!