My antique lap desk ...

In my last blog entry I talked about my sister Peg who passed away 7 years ago.  It brought to mind the lovely antique lap desk that she inherited and sent to me requesting that I decorate it for her in any way that I thought appropriate.   I was very touched by her request.

The desk top was perfectly plain as you can see in the “before” picture. It was literally a blank canvas and I tried hard to find the perfect design to bring it alive. I have a huge library of Folk Art books and I leafed through them looking for an inspiration. I knew I had found my answer when I came across this sweet picture of two sisters in repose. 

The picture was painted in 1854 by Mary Ann Smith and is titled “Portrait of the Two Sisters”. I loved the colors and the stylistic folk art look. It seemed to be a perfect match for the desk and I felt like I was paying homage to the artist rather than just copying her art. I like to think that she had a sister as close to her as Peg and I always were.