Van Gogh meets Kiawah – A Commission Story

Part of the Teal Canvas experience is the connection built, between our team, the artist, the buyer, the designer. Of course, we help create original pieces to beautify a room. However, sometimes we have the honor of hearing people’s stories, the depth of meaning that goes into a piece.

This is one such story!

It was our first year in business. Teal Canvas had just launched. We were all bright eyed and bushy tailed. Although we were just getting started, we knew we had found a bit of magic in our mission. It was a time when any commission, given our infancy, was celebrated with leaping fist pumps and high fives.

Imagine our pride when our buyer, Tom, called us for a very specific commission, our first high value, gallery level piece.

For years, Tom had vacationed with his family in Kaiwah Island, South Carolina. It held such meaning, such memories for him and his family.  A special place.

Tom had a collection of beautiful photos from his time in Kiawah that he wanted combined into a beautiful landscape painting for his office.

See a few of the photographs provided below…

Despite the photographs, Tom didn’t want a photo-realistic piece. He wanted a painting that would radiate beauty in a slightly abstract way. Think Starry Night. A dash of Van Gogh, swirls and movement and a palette that radiated.

And we knew we had just the artist in Rodger Schultz. We had long been admirer’s of Rodger’s work and were honored when he decided to partner with us, even in our infancy.

We organized a meeting between Tom and Rodger to start the conversation. We knew it was an immediate match. They just “spoke the same language”.

Rodger, using photoshop, was able to algemate the photographs together to give Tom a sense of the piece’s artistic direction. See below!

There was instant agreement and Tom loved the direction. So off we went.

We were all just so thrilled to see how Rodger would merge a fascinating Van Gogh look, with a realistic setting that was so acutely important to Tom.

Throughout, Rodger provided updated progress shots to Tom. Tom was able to provide feedback every step of the way to assure the painting was progressing exactly how he envisioned.

Check out a few of these progress shots below.

Every step of the way, Tom was kept in the loop, even having the opportunity to visit Rodger in his home studio as they lived in the same city (pic above).

Once the piece was completed, we were able to provide Tom with a grand unveiling. A true dance between Kiawah, beautiful styling, Tom’s vision, and Rodger’s talent.

We continually remember this commission as our first opportunity in the high value space. And Tom will have this gorgeous painting to leave as a legacy for his children.

“I could not be happier with my painting and with my experience with Teal Canvas and my artist Rodger Shultz.  Jay at Teal Canvas guided me through the process of selecting the artist with care and attention, and Rodger simply delivered an excellent piece of art.  I highly recommend the experience for any art consumer who (kind of) knows what they want but can’t find it.  The shared creative process was unique, valuable, and transparent.”

This is why we do what we do.