I love it when a client presents a project to the studio, located near Robinson, IL, and he or she has a distinct vision of what they want.

In this case, it was my friend Cora who I've done restoration work for in the past.

One of 14 children, she said the surviving children meet annually and have their photo taken. Sadly, this tradition was missed by a sister who had passed the previous year.

Could we incorporate an old photo of her sister into one of the group photos?

Of course!

There were so many directions my mind was going. I initially tried putting her in the top right corner (where it is now) but the trees were in the way, so I opted to put her in the window. I wasn't happy with it it, but I knew if I showed it to Cora, she'd show me which way to go.

I could tell I went the wrong way and I told her about my concern with saving the trees in the background. After bouncing ideas back and forth a couple times, we'd figured out exactly how to make the piece work.

I love doing compositions like this because they mean so much to the client and his or her family. It also gives me a chance to really flex some creative muscle.

Every artist has their own perspective on the pieces they do. I love working with clients and getting their perspective. It's when the two perspective meld that the magic happens.

Thank you, Cora, for allowing me to work on such a great project!