Thank You All!

I want to say thank you to everyone who is suppporting me in this endeavor!  Wow, what a time consuming project it has turned out to be :)  Each portrait is done in three steps.  I start by preparing two  sheets of watercolor paper at a time.  They are taped onto a board, and then wet down to stretch the paper.  After waiting for it to dry, I then draw each portrait lightly onto the paper.  When this is done, I can begin to paint them.  From this point, I have to paint them in one sitting or they end up having weird lines in them from where the paint dries.  They take between two to three hours to paint once I have them to the painting stage.  As you can imagine, this has taken LOTS of time from my normal day  to day stuff, and my family has definitely picked up the slack!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
I also want to thank my mom for stepping up and helping out with the next phase, and my sisters for their unwavering support from the concept stage!  My kids put up with me making them see each one as it is finished, and being excited (even if they are bored).  My amazing hubby has also let me bounce ideas off of him every step of the way, and everyone I speak to is absolutely encouraging!!!!  So, thank you all for the part you are playing in this!
With each painting I finish, I am getting more and more excited to see the finished product!  16 more paintings to go and the first step is done, then it is on to the next stage of putting it all together.  Keep checking in, and I will do my best to try and keep updating!

Announcing........

     The last few weeks have been FULL of heart wrenching drama!  Deciding on a venue has been a much more difficult process than I could have predicted.  From the start, I have had my eyes and heart set on two very different places and they collided when both venues accepted the piece.  I had the most difficult decision I have had to make since the start of this process!  I am very honored to have been in this situation, and beyond humbled!
     Degage Ministries was the first to accept the piece, and after meeting with the marketing director, I felt that my heart was telling me that this was the place for the piece.  I went through the various ways of reconfiguring the piece to fit the space they had available, and could envision it.  I could see the actual people that the piece is about seeing themselves and filling with pride.
     The very same day, I heard back from the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel that they were interested as well! This is when my mind started to speak up!  I feel that the piece will be seen by so many more people here, and ultimately that is what it is about....bringing awareness to how prevalent Homelessness is right here in Grand Rapids, and how each of these people are an INDIVIDUAL, to the people who are able to actually make a difference!
     It is on that note that I am VERY PROUD to announce that the Amway will be hosting my piece for ArtPrize 2012!!!!!!!  In the next few days I hope to have the finalized details, my voting number, etc....WOW!  This is really happening! :)