Unique 40yr Marriage Anniversary gift for mom and dad
Did you know that 40 year marriage anniversary is ruby? I didn’t until I recently painted a custom family tree illustration for a client whose parents were about to celebrate their 40 years of marriage. My client requested that I put her mom in a ruby colored dress in the painting and that’s how I found out the ruby color is the color for this particular wedding anniversary.
It always amazes me how many new factoids I learn with each family tree I paint. I’ve learned from the same project about the Canadian equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, a race called the Queens Plate. Another fun fact: the Queens Plate’s trophy has a beaver on top. One would expect a horse, right? But no… It’s a beaver! Speaking of horses… I’ve never painted a horse up until this project. Nor have a painted a blue jay meant to represent my client’s brother’s love for the Toronto Blue jays. I just love all the little details like that. I love ‘weaving’ all the details my clients tell me into their family tree painting to create a unique and very personal piece of art.
Family Tree Art: Turning your family’s story into fun details to create a unique painting
I love how different each painting I create is. For this particular family tree I chose to replace a ribbon banner that I usually add to the bottom of my family tree paintings with a piece of a movie reel. My client told me how much her family enjoys watching movies and that’s where the idea came from. Another fun detail I loved working on in this family tree was a wheelbarrow I painted next to her mom. My client told me that her mother loves gardening and that she was originally from Mexico, so I decided to combine these two facts to paint a wheelbarrow filled with roses similar in colors to the Mexican flag. I also added a green, white and red ribbon around it.
Per my client’s request I painted a road sign with the names of the places that hold special meaning to her family next to the dad. I was also pleased that my client chose to add her grandparents’ names to the tree roots. Writing one’s ancestors’ names on tree roots as opposed to leaves is a relatively new option I offer to my clients and I really love the way it makes the paintings look.
If you would like to order a custom family tree for your parents 40th wedding anniversary please Contact the artist
