I was recently asked to do a special memorial piece for a friend. She had some ideas but wasn’t sure how to make them work together. She sent me a piece that she kinda liked and the Irish blessing and I ran with it from there.

This piece is approximately 36” wide x 24” tall and is painted on naturally aged pine. I knew I needed to give more depth and meaning to the tree concept. The symbolism of the intertwining roots, new growth blooming on top and two birds finding comfort and safety within its branches seemed perfect for this tribute.

Instead of whitewashing the wood, I left it’s naturally distressed silvery grey color as the base. The tree has a watercolor effect because I diluted the paint to give it a softer feel. The tree was fun to work on as it came together quickly.

The lettering was fairly straight forward.  I used Gourdie Uncial typeface because it has a great weight and feel with a Celtic flair.

All in all, I love how this one pulled together.

All 139handcrafted items are constructed and hand painted/hand lettered by me.  I enjoy creating one-of-a-kind pieces using naturally aged pine wood from our local mill, or authentic, 100+ year old reclaimed wood that we have recovered from local barns that have been torn down. What makes these pieces unique is the natural beauty and texture of the aged wood contrasting with crisp lettering and imagery that is hand painted on them. No stencils, vinyl or appliqués are used….just a brush and paint! Because of this, I am able to paint on otherwise unprintable surfaces and customize any piece.

You’ll see some more examples in my Gallery on my website here: https://139handcrafted.com/

Or on my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/139handcrafted?ref=hdr_shop_menu

And as always, if you have an idea but don’t see exactly what you want, send me a message!