This past week I had the opportunity to hang out with Amy Osaba and paint some of her amazing creations. First off, let's talk about Amy. She is awesome. Super warm and welcoming. She offered me something to drink within .5 seconds, introduced me to her family- which by the way her sons are adorable (her oldest called my work phenomenal. He is 7 and completely melted my heart) and her mother is hilarious- and didn't seem to mind at all when I sat in on the team doing their thing. (Even when I picked up shears- is that what they're called?- and asked to help with the prep.) So yea, she's pretty cool and I'm thrilled I was able to get to hang out with her.
Now let's talk about her work. If you haven't seen her pieces yet (where have you been?) go take a look at her website. Or any wedding blog for that matter because she's loved by all of them. Each piece has a unique organic feeling-nothing is stuffy or overworked and yet they all have some unexpected twist to them. It's almost as if the flowers are dancing with each other- the textures and colors pushing and pulling your eyes around the arrangements. (And seeing as Amy used to be a ballerina, this makes complete sense.) As soon as I saw her work, I knew I wanted to paint it and finally (after psyching myself up and telling myself to stop being such a chicken) I sent her an email and asked if she'd mind.
Luckily, she didn't mind at all.
And after two phone calls for directions, various conversations ranging from how Amy Grant's Baby, Baby was stuck in my head to why we didn't like the fact that Taylor Swift dated Jake Gyllenhaal, 100s of beautiful flowers, 1 mini art lesson with her son, and 4 hours later- here is what was created. (even if it goes without saying...all images copyright of courtney khail)
Thank you so much for letting me come over, Amy! I had such a great time and can't wait to do this again. And I promise a painting will be on the way to you shortly!