Great Fosters

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Possibly my most challenging and favourite commission to date. My client came to me, looking for a 10th anniversary present for his wife. He didn’t know what he wanted. He just knew he liked my work and wanted something that told their story.

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We sat together in my studio over a few coffees. I scribbled furiously as he told me about how they met, how he proposed, their wedding, their honeymoon, their life together and the family they were raising.

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As their story unfolded, so did the concept of his commission. I wanted to create a happy picture that told their story and encouraged them to stop still, to make new discoveries and revisit special memories.

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"Maithili painted a picture of our wedding venue, Great Fosters and its grounds…but with a difference. Well, 26 differences that each referenced something significant in our time dating, marriage and life together. A cheeky blue door on the stately home to mark our life in Notting Hill; flowers from my wife’s wedding bouquet; a slug on a lettuce in the veggie patch as a nod to our first meeting at The Slug and Lettuce; a couple of magpies to honour my wife’s hometown and football team…to name just a few. We’re so pleased with the end result. I’ll be forever grateful for your creativity and sheer brilliance. It’s a lovely piece that provides so many reminders of the last 12 years."

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