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Testimonials on Commission Work
Northwest Art Studio
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Custom Painting testimonials
I received the painting of the Heceta Head Lighthouse as a gift. I was amazed at the level of detail that was achieved on such an unusual medium like stone. Ms. Skinner is truly a talented artist to be able to capture the beauty of that lighthouse and replicate it so perfectly. -Charles F. Stanley In Touch Ministry - Atlanta GA ______________________________________________________________________________ Last summer, my wife and I happened upon an outdoor art show in Cannon Beach, Oregon. We walked by Mickie painting a beautiful heron on stone - I was transfixed by her work. There was something clearly special about her abilities to capture wildlife on this unusual medium. We asked Mickie to paint our West Highland Terrier, Mac and the results were wonderful. She was able to capture Mac's face, eyes, and hair so clearly that I immediately knew this was Mac! Thanks, Mickie, we are enjoying your work every day in our house, Jon & Susan Zall, Portland Oregon ______________________________________________________________________________ This last Christmas, we received a gift I will cherish forever, a portrait of our beloved Cat, "KIDDERS", from my very dear brother Jim and sister in law, Susan of Neskowin, OR. We had Kidders for 13 too short years, he became diabetic, and got very sick, so we decided he had been through enough, it was so hard to lose him. He was a homeless cat until my husband Roger brought him home, and I fell in love with him shortly thereafter. He was a very loving, affectionate cat, he slept right by me every night and purred himself to sleep. You are very talented, and I am overwhelmed with my Memorial Rock, it is as if he's right there with you in the room. Thank You for the incredible work you do, I am passionate about animals too, and you do them such justice capturing them so naturally and realistically. You truly have a special gift, and obviously you are a perfectionist! I got very choked up opening our gift at Christmas, I will not lose your website address, as I would like you to capture my other pets in time....I m also happy to see my cat (your beautiful artwork) on your website, he was a GREAT cat !! Thank you again, I am honored to have your artwork in my home. Sincerely, Bonnie Lemire Deephaven, MN ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ We lost our precious kitty Maisey in November after having to put her to sleep because she had injection site sarcoma from a rabies vaccination. It was the absolute hardest thing we ever had to do. She was my shadow and cuddle bunny. The guilt was terrible afterward even though we knew it had to be done. I knew then that I wanted to do something special to remember her so I googled pet portraits and found Mickie and knew right away she was the right person for the job. I loved the proof pictures she sent me . Since the painting was a Christmas gift for my husband I had to wait til Christmas for him to open the gift. When he opened the box and unwrapped the stone he immediately teared up. It was like our Maisey was there looking back at us. Her spirit was captured in her eyes. I cannot begin to tell Mickie what the painting means to us. I highly recommend her if you need a painting of your precious pet! Maisey is now watching over us from the fireplace mantle. Linda Hilbert (Maryland) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ I can't believe it - you got the eyes absolutely perfect! They are the soulful eyes of our Furby boy. Everything is just right. I really expected to be disappointed with how the eyes would look painted. I was so wrong. Thank you so much. Sue Gerhardt Oregon _______________________________________________________________ While trying to figure out what kind of gift I could give to my friend that would be special and unique, I was thrilled when I found Mickie's website. I knew that I wanted to give my friend a portrait of her dogs. I looked at a lot of different sites but once I saw Mickie's, I knew I had found the right one. My search was over! I knew I would not find better work anywhere else. Mickie's work is great, unique, and after I e-mailed her and then phoned her, I felt her honesty and knew that she would be the right person to capture my friend's dogs. Mickie's paintings on the rocks are wonderful and so amazingly beautiful!! When talking to Mickie, her enthusiasm about her work and her warm, lively personality let me know immediately how important her work is to her. She was so easy to talk to that I felt like we had been friends for years. Mickie was constantly in touch with me once I sent her the pictures of my friends' dogs. She wanted to know every detail about the dogs, as she would question everything, from their colour to whether they wore collars and I knew that Mickie would not settle for anything other than perfection. I knew how important that was to her and everytime I talked to her on the phone or she emailed me, it just made me more and more excited to see the final product. I could not wait to give my friend the paintings and see her reaction. With the amount of time Mickie gave me while doing the painting, there was no doubting Mickie's goal was for her clients to be happy and her work flawless. When Mickie was asking me certain questions about what I thought or if I felt something needed to be changed, I would always ask her what she thought, knowing full well that I could put all my faith into her doing exactly what would be right. I fully trusted Mickie's opinion and had no doubts about her ability to do a fantastic job. I cannot thank Mickie enough for all the time and help she gave me and I hope she knows how much I appreciate her kindness and all the patience that she had in dealing with me. My friend was touched by the great work that Mickie did. In her email to me, my friend wrote, quote;....thank you again for the amazing portraits of Ash and Bailey. They look great.....I can't get over how accurate they are, the artist captured their expressions perfectly. I looked at her website, she is truly talented. What is so wonderful about Mickie is I knew from the first time I spoke to her, I was not dealing with a saleperson but someone who is a totally sincere, a caring person, an animal lover, as well as a person completely committed to her work. I asked Mickie to do another portrait for me for my friends who have lost their beloved companion dog. I know how much they are going to love Mickie's work and how touched my friends will be by it. Knowing that Mickie is extremely busy, I wasn't expecting the rock to be ready until September but, thanks to Mickie's compassionate nature, and knowing that my friend is not well right now, the portrait is already on the way to me, two months early. Once again, I am so excited to see my friends reaction when they open this gift from this truly brilliant artist. Anyone who is looking for a special gift for someone, I totally recommend that they deal with Mickie. Not only for her amazing work but also for her infectious and remarkable personality!! Thank you for everything, Mickie. I have to add a note to this testimonial. I wrote this quite awhile ago but was so slow at sending it to Mickie that my friends have already received their rock and were very touched by it. We were all crying at how Mickie totally captured Maddie. Not only were they so totally moved by Mickie's work, my friend sent in her testimonial before me. Sorry about that Mickie but I DO love your work and I know anybody that has you do a painting for them cannot go wrong. MICKIE, you are the best!!!! I can never thank you enough. Ashley Bailey Maddie Quote; We received one of your portraits of our dog as a gift from a friend. Our dog was much beloved, and we miss her horribly since we had to have her euthanized this past September. I just want to let you know how touched we are by your beautiful portrait of Maddie. It is so lifelike and you have done so well in capturing her spirit and essence, especially during her last days. She was a spunky dog but was extremely vulnerable during her last year, and you have mirrored that vulnerability in her eyes. Thank you very much for such a sensitive, beautiful portrayal of our friend whom we miss so much. We have placed it in the sunroom where I sit every day at my computer and I can look over and see her whenever I choose. You have such a gift, and we shall treasure it. Karen Morris Ontario, Canada _______________________________________________________________ Mickie, I got the painting of Katie today. It is awesome. You captured Katie and Oreo's personalities perfectly in your paintings. Thank you sooooo much. They look great on the shelf in my living room. Sue Wilks - (Texas) _______________________________________________________________ Well, the UPS guy just drove up and oh my gosh was this Christmas gift so worth the wait! I love it!!!! The painting is so amazing, it almost appears to be in 3D! This little kitty was rescued in Aug. 08 and we just fell in love with her sweet little face. Seeing her painted in such detail is just incredible! What a great gift idea for anyone that loves their pets. I loved this so much that now I am gonna have to order more, so I can have all my other pets on stone too! Sherry Merklin (California) _______________________________________________________________ I home schooled my son, Michael. He begged daily for a dog. When I gave him an assignment for English covering parts of grammar, he submitted; Noun: I want a dog. Verb: Can we get a dog? Adjective: I want a yellow dog. When I asked for paragraphs, sentences, inquiries, statements, stories or anything at all, its subject matter was the dog he longed for. Charlie joined our family when Michael was 10 years old. He has been a wonderful addition to our family, home and lives. Michael and Charlie grew up together and they share a strong bond. Now, Michael is twenty years old, and is fighting a war on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, Charlie was diagnosed with cancer soon after Michael began his tour of duty in Iraq. Our grief for Charlie was magnified by Michael’s absence. We prayed that Charlie would live long and well enough to enjoy a family trip to the coast when Michael came home on leave. Radiation and chemotherapy has lengthened Charlie’s life, and he is still with us today. Michael was able to say, “Goodbye” to his faithful dog and friend. Perhaps Charlie will still be with us ‘in the fur’ when Michael’s tour is completed. Perhaps not. It gives us great comfort that Charlie’s character and personality have been captured for us to treasure all our lives. Mickie captured not just a yellow lab, but Charlie. I can see his heart in the eyes that she painted. The pose is typical of Charlie. She was even able to fill in his bald spots that the radiation therapy left in its wake by looking at pictures of him before he was affected. It is more life-like than most photos – jumping from the stone into our hearts. The painting focuses on Charlie, not his people or surroundings. Mickie’s painting captured him completely and we are so grateful for her talent, passion and heart. Ami Deneen (Washington) _____________________________________________________________ Mickie did an amazing job painting our cat "Pearl" recently. We wanted something special to commemorate her upcoming five year anniversary of cancer survival. I had seen her work on display at a local dog specialty store and was instantly impressed. When we met to go over the artwork, I found Mickie to be very thorough and precise in finding out what I wanted and which rock and photo of my cat would work best. Her attention to detail and knowledge about capturing a pet's personality was immediately apparent. She was very professional and pleasant to be with. She asked lots of questions to make sure the finished work would be exactly as I envisioned. In a very timely period, the rock painting was finished. When I saw it, it touched me deeply because it was an lovely replica of my precious cat. I am a professional photographer so very fussy and demanding. Pearl's rock painting was perfect... and something my husband and I will treasure always. Thank you so much, Mickie! Rebecca & Emory Richardson (Washington) __________________________________________________________ Romper passed away February 27,2008 and Lucy passed away 69 days later on May 6, 2008. We were truly devastated. When my mom gave us our 'babies' rock my husband and I both cried. The likeness is uncanny. The eyes seem to "see". The hair seems so real you want to touch it. It's as if they are, both, still here. Though they now sit on a table instead of our laps we feel like we can 'actually' see them. We are so grateful for Mickie's talent and heart. She has truly given us a most precious gift. Thanks so VERY much, Mickie! Donna Upton (Washington) ________________________________________________________________________ Mickie. She did a fabulous job on it. We presented it to him at our family Holiday Party. His dog, Annie, is getting on up in years and it was so nice to see such joy in our boss’s eyes when he opened the gift. It was very special. Thank you so much again Mickie. You did a super job on capturing Annie’s special looks…. Jennie and the Gang at CAS, Ridgefield WA ___________________________________________________________ Dear Mickie: I would like to let you know how much I love the beautiful picture of Hannah that you painted for my dad. You are truly a gifted artist. Sincerely, Michele My Dad loves Hannah's rock so much. He was so surprised and says it looks just like his cat. He has it in a special place in his office. Thank you so much. Sincerely, Michele Eugene, OR ___________________________________________________________ How can I express to you how I feel ,I am in tears,and my daughter Emilee is still amazed at how wonderful and beautiful the artwork is in these stone portraits! You have captured my loves,my sweet furbabies so perfectly and their personalities shine! Especially the heart and love and emotion in our lil ole woman ,Shiyla! She had this depth and knowledge in her sweet eyes,a kindness that we saw at the very end,like it came to her just before she crossed the bridge, I see it in her eyes in your portrait,and I couldnt see it in the picture. The little upturned smile and the way her brown eys twinkled and even the way it looked like she wore mascara (which was one of the reasons we fell in love with her when we bought her) . Even the curl in her chest hair,you captured the heart of Shiyla! Dear kind Mickie, you have an eye for such terrific details! When I look into Buffys lil face I see that you grabbed her feisty stinker attitude as well as her beauty. The lace and fluff in her lil frilly dress and the the curls and swirls of the black silver and reddish strands highlighting her wavy fur! Emilee said it in one very loud word,AMAZING! Sheila & Emilee Schneider (Florida) ___________________________________________________________ We went to the Southwest Washington Humane Society Auction in October a couple days after euthanizing our most loved 15-1/2 year old cocker, Sam. We've had 7 cockers, some orphans and rescues, but Sam we had since she was 3 months old and she was special. She was my shadow and followed me everywhere. I miss her so much. At the auction my husband bid on a painted rock by Mickie. She had donated her talent to allow someone else to have their pet brought to life as Mickie did with Sam. She wanted to see Sam to make sure she got her right but instead had to paint Sam with the pictures I gave her. She knew I was grieving and one week after I gave her Sam's pictures she brought over the painted rock. It was my Sam looking at me. She captured our Sam's eyes perfectly. It was almost like I could reach out and pet her. It gives me comfort to have the rock sitting on my desk. Thank you Mickie. You are a special lady. Sandy and Michael Stephens (Washington) _____________________________________________________________ Our family was devastated by the passing or our dog Thunder. I spoke with Mickie and she wanted to paint Thunder on a rock. While she was working on the project, I told my 9 year old son (who was most hurt by our dog’s death) that Mickie was going to paint Thunder on a rock. He immediately said “Mom….nobody can paint Thunder on a rock and have it really look like our Thunder” Well Mickie finished the rock and she showed it to me, the warmest feeling came over me. To me she had captured the “real” Thunder just perfect. Now the Thunder rock would have to pass inspection of my 9 year old son. When I showed the rock to my family they were in awe. My 9 year old son was speechless and tears came to his eyes. He said, “Mom…Mickie really can paint our Thunder”. Since then we have had Mickie paint our other dog Trina and we have both the rocks on display in our Living Room of our home. Just viewing the rock of Thunder daily has been the best bereavement therapy. It gives us such warm memories of our dogs. Mickie has touched our lives with her special talent, hopefully she can touch your life. Luanne Stricker (Washington) _____________________________________________________________ |
