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As promised in my previous post, it is with enthusiasm that I am revealing the painting created by Vé Boisvert (Véro). This large 5 by 4 feet (60×48) painting is almost double the size of the other paintings! I would like to thank Véro, who once again, honoured my little Zackaël with such virtuosity. Thank you also to my mother for this beautiful gift.
Véro loved the kids’ spontaneous reactions during the last reveal, so I decided to let them speak in this video. For my part, I will share my own observations via this blog! Without further delay, here is the reveal.
My observations
From the start, the colours caught my eyes. I was enthralled not only by the choice of colours, but also their brilliance and balance. This is the main reason why I preferred this canvas ahead of the other one that Véro painted. (As mentioned in my post Under Zackaël’s Wings, Véro generously gives the choice between two canvases for any personalized order.)
Without a doubt, a key advantage of a custom order is the option to choose the colour palette. However, it is impossible to know whether our choice of palette will turn out like we imagined. In my case, it was exactly what I hoped for; a blend of warm and cold colours perfectly balanced with an ideal mix of each colour. Not only is each colour beautiful, but each one symbolizes something.
White : Although white is not in considered a colour, I wanted even more white in this painting. As you can see, white is never isolated in the canvas, and its predominance is precisely achieved by Véro.
White is obtained by mixing the light of all other colours. In this artwork, it represents not only a mixture of all colours, but also of light and purity. Throughout his short life, this is what my beautiful Zackaël gave us.
Throughout the canvas we can perceive small white wings, like those of my sweet angel Zackaël, the most beautiful of angels with the whitest wings. Moreover, white symbolizes purity, perfection (like Zackaël) as well as brilliance.
Red: This warm and powerful colour represents the love we have for Zackaël. Even though Zackaël is no longer here with us, he is and always will be in our hearts. Moreover, this colour symbolizes all the love he brought us. Red being a colour that tends to dominate, Véro incorporated just the right amount.
Green: Zackaël’s favorite colour, green represents both his calm side and his “outdoorsy” side. Zackaël loved nature and being outside.
Turquoise: Another favorite colour of Zackaël, turquoise simultaneously brings freshness and serenity to the canvas. If you got to know Zackaël, you would certainly have seen him wearing this beautiful colour. His favourite t-shirt, one with a robot, was turquoise. Turquoise also reminds me of Zackaël’s amazing eyes as well as his aquatic side since he loved swimming and playing with water.
Symbolism
In addition to enriching my decor, I am delighted by the painting’s location and what it symbolizes:
“Serene and sad at the same time, this work evokes the life and the departure of Zackaël.”
When he was still with us, I would say that Zackaël was “my little angel” since he was so sweet. Now that he is in gone, I know that he is the most beautiful angel in heaven. I named this beautiful piece “Zackaël, mon ange du ciel” which translates to “Zackaël, my angel from heaven”.
The background displays a gradient of darker tones (at the bottom), transitioning to lighter tones towards the top of the canvas. This gradient symbolizes that despite the difficult and darker times, we must continue to think of Zackaël who shines in the light above.
Before and after
In my previous post, I shared several pictures of our living room, in addition to a video with Zackaël. I talked about how artwork can draw the eye upward and make the room feel more balanced. Today, it is my privilege of to show how art is a great investment that can transform a space to something spectacular. Below are several “before” and “after” photos of my living room!
Living Room Update
I must admit that once the canvas was installed, it clashed with the colour of the stone around the fireplace. As we are planning to change our wood-burning fireplace to a gas one, I had asked Véro to ignore the stone which would soon be replaced.
However due to Covid, I now realise that it will take several months before any renovation. As such, I decided to paint it white in the meantime. It took me about 1 hour and the whole look was improved! We can now fully admire the canvas without being distracted by the hearthstone.
Before and After – Painted Brick Fireplace
Before and After – Original decor (2012) vs Now
Going back to our original decor, we have done a lot to improve the look of the living room since 2012. Although this great room has high ceilings, it is a bit narrow. As you can see below, the furniture (that we brought from our previous house) did not work. The sofas were too massive and suffocating the room, while the carpet was too small. Many design mistakes made the room appear much smaller; we can see how changing furniture opens up the space in this “Before and After” comparison.
Before and After – When we bought (2010) vs Now
And to go back even further, below is the comparison of our house when we bought it in 2010 vs today! The advantage of transforming a living room is that it costs much less than renovating a kitchen, for example.
The location
Let’s talk about a perfect location for an art piece! Taking place in the most central room of our house, the work can be admired from 9 other rooms, which is incredible. Not only it can be seen from the living room, but also from the kitchen, from the entrance and from the upstairs bedrooms!
From Zackaël’s room 
From Adélie’s room 
From Maxandre’s room 
From our master bedroom
When we enter the house (from the garage) 
From the kitchen
Versatility
Without a doubt Véro created an exceptional work in honor of Zackaël and what he meant to us. My next step is to pull from the painting’s colours and add an accent colour for decorative objects. This will pull the room together while further enhancing the different elements of the piece.
Curtains closed 
At night with lamp on
Do you have artwork in your home that means a lot to you? Or are you planning to purchase customized artwork at some point? If so, tell us more in the comments below! Artwork can often make or break a space. Don’t forget to get one that’s big enough. One of the 2 biggest mistakes people make is going “too small”. I recommend this article if you are unsure about the size and placement. Finally, I’m sharing a picture showing how versatile this kind of abstract art is. As you can see, the same canvas perfectly suits this modern decor as well.
That’s it for now! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts in the comments!
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