During my wedding preparations in 2014, I had a unique idea to gift my guests with an original painting of mine as a wedding souvenir. This idea required significant responsibility, hard work, and commitment, as it entailed creating around 200 handmade paintings rather than just one..
The idea was not only brilliant but also made perfect sense to me. It allowed me to incorporate an artistic touch into my wedding, which resonated well with my personal interests since art is an integral part of my life. Although we were contemplating donating a sum of money to a voluntary organization, we eventually decided against it because we already donate regularly throughout the year in terms of both time and finances. As our wedding was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, we wanted to give our guests something special, something that would serve as a lasting memory of our special day.
As we discovered that a significant number of our guests were foreigners, the idea of gifting original Maltese paintings became even more appealing. The concept fell perfectly into place, and I decided that each painting should represent a unique touch of Malta. To achieve this, I chose five distinct Maltese subjects for the paintings.
- Traditional Maltese Luzzu
- Traditional Maltese Bus
- Traditional Maltese Door
- Traditional Maltese Enclosed Balcony
- Traditional Maltese Balcony
I was resolute about one thing – I did not want to reproduce prints of my artwork. Instead, I wanted each painting to be completely original and distinctive. I chose to use Indian ink with watercolour as the medium for all five Maltese subjects, and the paintings were created in A5 size.
The entire process was quite lengthy and took approximately six months to complete. While family members provided assistance with cutting the paper into the appropriate A5 size, mounting the passe-partout, and wrapping the paintings in gift bags, the actual creation of the artwork was entirely my responsibility. This included the drawing, inking, watercolouring, and signing of each individual painting.
Overall, I was extremely pleased with the final outcome of the paintings. Initially, I was apprehensive that some guests may not appreciate the artwork and discard it in their “unwanted” souvenir drawer. However, the positive feedback I received from my guests made all the hard work worthwhile. It was heartwarming to see my guests genuinely appreciating the paintings, to the point where they were having trouble deciding which Maltese subject to choose. Some guests even expressed interest in purchasing the entire collection to display in their homes. Others were intrigued by the originality of the idea and asked many questions about the process behind creating the paintings.
In summary, the idea of gifting original Maltese paintings as wedding souvenirs turned out to be a great success. I am so proud of the hard work and commitment I put into making this dream a reality. Today, the entire collection is framed and proudly displayed in my home, serving as a constant reminder of this special day.
If you are interested in purchasing or completing the collection, you can now shop online and enjoy free delivery.
