07 January, 2026 0 comments Leave a comment

Last week I delivered two commissioned paintings to their new owners, and it warms my heart to see how delighted they are with their special new art pieces.

The painting pictured here, Tamarack Territory, varnished watercolour on 16 x 16 inch panel, now graces a home near Ottawa, Ontario.

Not familiar with the term 'commissioned'? It refers to custom artwork created with the specifications of the client in mind. Over the years, I have created almost 100 custom paintings for clients who wanted to celebrate the memory or feeling of a special time and place.

In the case of Tamarack Territory, my clients saw the two reference photos pictured here in an article I wrote in 2024, Manitoba: Through An Artist's Eye.

The first photo is Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park near Dauphin. The leaning tree on the point caught my eye but I also love the rocks in the foreground and the moody sky.

My client is from New Brunswick originally and this scene reminded her of the seashore there.

The second photo I took from the train between Thompson and Churchill. The tamaracks were in their full autumn glory the week we were there. They are a deciduous conifer whose soft needles turn golden in the fall, drop from the tree and regrow each spring.

My clients let me know they wanted a painting of the rocky shore with a few tamarack trees added. We agreed on a size that suited their wall space and I worked on the new scene for five weeks, completing it on Christmas Day.

Painting the sky and water waves really stretched my technical creative skills, and I was very pleased with the success of the finished painting. Knowing that it will be treasured in its new home also is very important to me as an artist, and provides the impetus to keep painting.

The second commissioned painting, Whispers of the Wilderness, varnished watercolour on 8 x 8 inch panel, is shown here. It now resides in Peterborough, Ontario.

My client saw a similar painting of mine last summer in my blog post New Works: Little Gems from my Traveling Studio.

The piece captured her love of exploring northern lakes by canoe and she admired the scene, but it was a bit too large for the wall space she had in mind. She asked me to create a new version of the scene in a smaller size, and with more emphasis on autumn foliage.

I finished her painting on Christmas Day and she and her husband picked it up from my studio last weekend.

The next day she sent me this photo of the new painting hanging in their living room and commented "Hi Karen! It’s hanging with my other favourite pictures!! Thank you for your incredible talent." I think the painting looks perfect in its new home (below a previous painting of mine, Whispers of the North) and am so pleased my clients are happy.

Whether large or small, a work of art can communicate in a personal way what no other object can. It is a permanent presence in our lives and can be passed on to future generations.

If you would like to acquire a painting similar to one of my previous pieces, or inspired by my travel stories from all across Canada, please contact me to discuss your ideas.

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