In March, I asked a question here about commissioning artwork.

I was then lucky enough to be contacted by @cc-louis. I was struck by the use of color in his portfolio and engaged with him to create some artwork as a gift for my husband.

The Artwork

I thought about putting this at the end for suspense, but I know people are just going to scroll to get to the good stuff, so without any further delay:

Here it is!
And here is the print!

I'm in the back holding the Pokeball cupcake from the previous batch of cupcakes (I am the de facto taste tester of my husband's baking). My adorable husband is the one pulling the current batch out of the oven. Our adorable dog is looking up, holding his favorite toy in his mouth, hoping something will fall on the floor so that he can try to eat it.

We're surrounded by my husband's Pokemon Pride Team, some of which have been helping him out with the baking, all of which are eager to get at those delicious fresh-baked goods.

The Setup

My husband is a lifelong Pokemon fan and has been playing the games since he was a kid. He doesn't just keep up with the series -- he often goes back and replays old games, doing Nuzlocke runs and themed teams for his playthroughs.

I surreptitiously found out from my husband what his Pokemon team would be if he did an LGBT Pride theme, choosing six Pokemon based on the colors of the rainbow flag. He chose the following:

Red: Scizor
Orange: Kingler
Yellow: Ninetales
Green: Bellossom
Blue: Marill
Purple: Arbok

My husband also loves baking (and I love eating my husband's baking).

The Brief

I wanted to get artwork of us with this Pride Team. I also wanted the Pride theme to be a bit more subdued. As much as I love the rainbow flag, it can be a little too gaudy and rigid for me sometimes. I wanted something that read as a cohesive scene, with the rainbow being more embedded and suggested than outright overt.

The Artist

I cannot speak highly enough of @cc-louis.

While I think the quality of his work speaks for itself, I'll also say that he was a joy to work with. He was consistently prompt and professional in all of our interactions. Furthermore, he was eagerly collaborative throughout the entire process. He would solicit my feedback and respond to any notes I gave him, while also smartly incorporating his own ideas (that were better than mine!). He sent me multiple drafts throughout his creative process to make sure I was happy with the direction he was taking things each step of the way.

The color, overall composition, and many of the incredible details in the pieces, were all him, not me. Early on he suggested a "cozy" feel with the oven as a centerpiece and a source of warm light, and I cannot say enough how much I love how it turned out. It is so beautiful and heartwarming to me.

If any of you are looking for commissioned artwork, I strongly recommend him. If I ever commission another piece, he will be first on my list.

(Hopefully it goes without saying, but @cc-louis did NOT ask me to give this review, nor did he pay me for this endorsement. I'm doing this purely as a very satisfied customer. I actually asked him for permission to give him a plug here!)

The Print

I also asked here about printing the image, and ended up selecting a local print shop. I couldn't really judge the quality of online print services and was worried I'd end up ruining the amazing artwork with a cheap-looking print. I figured a local shop would have a bit more expertise, and that I'd also be able to speak to real people if something came out wrong.

The local print shop did an incredible job, and their price was actually better than some of the online services I was looking at. The image now lives on a 22"x36" canvas, which will be mounted on our wall shortly.

I tried taking a picture of it, but my phone camera doesn't do it justice and makes it look kinda bad. The colors look muted and it looks like there's an odd texture on it that doesn't appear in person (might be small reflections of light?).

Everyone will just have to take my word on it that the artwork looks even better in person. I actually choked up a bit when I picked up the print because it was so beautiful and heartwarming.

I was secretly hoping my husband would happy cry when I showed it to him, but instead he got incredibly giddy (which was even better!) and immediately and proudly started texting the picture out to everyone we know on every single group chat we're on to show it off.

Overall, I am incredibly happy with how it turned out. My husband absolutely loves the piece, and I am beyond grateful to @cc-louis for turning my clumsy idea into a thing of beauty.