5822 Wayne Avenue, Edgewater Chicago (House Portrait)
by Annie Nacht Morgan
$800
This is a classic style home portrait, oil on stretched canvas, an example of a custom, commissioned home portrait. This painting is meaningful to me because, after returning to live in my beloved neighborhood after a traumatic experience, I was lucky enough to move around the corner from long-time work friends of my mom (both nurses). The proximity of these neighbors calmed my nervous system and allowed me to thrive in my new beginning. When their daughter told me they were selling the house last year and asked me to paint it, at first I refused, having never painted any portraits before and knowing that for portraits, you do need to get it right for it to “be” that person, home, or pet. My goal with this painting was to include the most minor details that would allow the owners to “step back’ onto their porch and walk inside, for example, the difference between the new and old sidewalk panels, the porch furniture, and the neighbor’s unkempt lawn. The family had owned this Edgewater home since the 1940s.