Testimonials

Home Portraits“THE BEST GIFT I EVER RECEIVED! How many people truly mean that after unwrapping their present? I am one who sincerely believes that the Home Portrait made as a surprise gift for me is, in fact, the best gift I ever received!”
New York, NY

“Down to the tiniest details, Susan beautifully, sensitively, and skillfully portrayed our home’s unique personality. The entire process from beginning to end was a wonderful and pleasurable experience with Susan, and we now have a cherished piece of art to give us a lifetime of beautiful memories.” Bedford, NY

“You were willing to listen and understand my ideas, and you took a great deal of interest in the project. The finished product is perfect in every way. Everyone who comes to my home admires the portrait.” Mamaroneck, NY

“Every time I walk past the portrait you painted, I smile. It’s such a happy, pretty rendering of our home. I should have had four copies made, because when we move, each of the children will want it! If we ever have another home, you will be called!” Bronxville, NY

“Our Home Portrait is a wonderful reminder of the love we share in our home. Our darling poodle, Molly, on the front lawn will touch us forever. Your work is extraordinary and we can’t thank you enough for your kindness and talent.” New Jersey

Home Portraits“I am so happy to have asked you to create a Home Portrait for us, and I can’t tell you how touched Carolyn was when she saw this beautiful painting. It is a warm, colorful reproduction of which we will be very proud when we hang it in our new home in Florida. I will recommend you without reservation to all of my friends.” Elmsford, NY

“Your rendering of my house is outstanding. What makes it so special is that, now, I have a permanent memory of this house as it appears in 1996. In years to come, this will become more and more important to my family.
The work itself has a lot of life, while the actual house is somewhat drab. Your colors make the building very joyful – a nice way to depict one’s house!” New York, NY

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the lovely portrait you did of our home. The compliments we receive from all our guests are endless. Above all the memory of our home will live with us forever. We hope to stay here for years to come. However, if for some unforeseen reason we move, your portrait will lend us and our children that very special memory. You do beautiful work, and Tony and I want you to know how very much it is cherished.” Rye Brook, NY

Home Portraits“When I saw the advertisement for Home Portraits in the Hudson Valley Magazine, I knew right away that this would be the best present ever for my brother and sister-in-law. Their house is the perfect Tudor dream house, and they put so much love into it that I knew they would cherish an original painting. Well, if you could have only seen their faces when they opened the packing.
Thanks for being so creative and marketing this unique idea. Personalizing is so appreciated these days when life seems to move so quickly.” New Jersey

“Words really can’t express the joy and happiness that showed on my parents’ faces when we gave them the portrait of the home where they reared the four of us. The painting was beautiful, and really showed the house as we remember it. I would highly recommend you!” White Plains, NY

“Susan’s work is detailed and proportional and excellent! We fully enjoy the 2 portraits of our home.”
Mamaroneck, NY

“We will forever be grateful to Susan for capturing the essence and warmth of our happy home! Truly a gift that will last a lifetime! Happy Anniversary!!” Rye, NY

“We were delighted to work with Susan on a portrait of our home. Susan perfectly captured the essence and feeling of our house and its grounds in a portrait that continues to give the family great pride and joy.”
Purchase, NY

FriedFramedFinal“The portrait you did for us is still a treasured piece where it sits prominently on the mantle of our fireplace, and for winters like this when we feel we live in a frozen tundra, it reminds us that spring will come again. One of the most special things is that we put our dog Heidi in it. While Heidi is still with us at 14, we recognize her time is limited and how wonderful it is that we have her in the portrait. It reminds us of her youthful look as now she is all gray and has trouble with her hips.
I even have a print of the portrait in our vacation home in the Bahamas, where we can share with our friends there our NY oasis.” Sands Point, NY

“Susan created three wonderful portraits of homes in which our family has lived, which I arranged as a 25th anniversary present to my wife. We love the portraits, and the process was very easy — even though it was all via the internet. These portraits are very special to our family.” Michigan

 

“For the man, woman, family, friends who have “everything”, a Home Portrait painted by Susan makes a perfect gift; it’s personal, it’s unique, and it’s ever-lasting. In addition, Susan had note cards printed for us that all my family members use. Viewing our Home Portrait provokes wonderful memories of our family’s evolution and will follow us wherever we make our home.” Scarsdale NY

 

“Although my Dad is gone now, the house portrait you did for our family still hangs in my mother’s apartment in a primary location, and it continues to be cherished by our family.” Brooklyn, NY

 

“As a “nomad” family, having traveled back & forth over the Atlantic ocean, having moved many, too many times… our memories are not in a place we can touch, smell, walk in, like the apartment where I grew up (and where my mother grew up and still lives in) but in pictures, photos, watercolors, oil paintings… to help us reminisce the place, the time, the connection.

Paris is far away but for the watercolor of the building we lived in; London the same except for another watercolor; Larchmont we still live in, for how long? At least we have a beautiful painting to pass on to our children so they can remember later the house where they spent their childhood and teenage years, sung on the swing and swung their baseball bat, where the dog barked at the mailman, where we fed the birds and watched in awe the deer decapitating our tulips every spring, where we had such wonderful family Christmases and parties with friends.

Your painting is our connection to our soon past and makes it our present forever! I gave it to my husband for our anniversary this year and it was in fact much more than an anniversary present: it was instantly a sort of family scavenger hunt!  Ah! The dog was sitting at the front door as he always did waiting for someone to throw a ball one more time…  Oh! The cat was looking at him on the bay window!  The day lilies were just starting; we had just planted the dwarf Japanese maples in honor of both kids getting into the college of their choice etc. Thank you for being such a good listener!

A few sentences cannot say it all but we are thankful you took on our little project and made it a reality on canvas for us all to enjoy through generations to come. It was a pleasure working with you and we are grateful for your talent and skills to translate our “memories to go”. Thank you and we wish you many more years of smiling Home Portraits.” Mamaroneck, NY

 

“Working with Susan on a painting of our lake home was truly a collaborative process.   While Susan is clearly the creative and technical genius of the project, I felt that my opinions and comments were always welcome. Nearly a year passed from start to finish.  During that time, Susan travelled to the house numerous times to capture the light and feelings created by the changing seasons.  I was aware of her plans at each stage, saw first her photos then her black and white sketch and ultimately her painting.  At each turn, I had the opportunity to offer thoughts and opinions.  Susan is professional but also pleasant, flexible and easy to work with and always made me feel that her creation, my painting gave her as much joy as it gave me.  She even offered to join me at the framer’s so that she might assist in bringing the project to a perfect conclusion.”  Candlewood Lake, CT

 

“When we moved from the house in Greenwich to the townhouse, I made sure to recreate the nook we had in the living room to accommodate the painting of the “old house.” But as in the best-laid plans, I failed to leave enough clearance for the house portrait framed! So the portrait is proudly displayed in our summer home on LI.
 It is even more fortuitous that I had you paint 2 smaller portraits of the house, which I think captured the life of the house. (Better than saying I couldn’t make up my mind.) One is in our new home in the office, where I see it everyday and the other made its way into a Florida apartment that became my refuge from the cold this past winter. Needless to say, we are enjoying all our portraits immensely.” Greenwich CT

 

“The idea of giving our parents a painted portrait of their beloved home was perfect, more encompassing than any amount of photo albums. One look at the painting and the home and all events that transpired there can be called upon. Six children and over twenty grandchildren later, that painting is treasured by all. Susan captured the elegance of the home and the beautiful grounds perfectly, down to the smallest nuances of detail work on the front door. The painting hangs in the family home down in Georgia, and smaller photocopies hang in each home of the six children who lived there. A true and lasting gift.” Eastchester, NY

 

“I just wanted to tell you again how beautiful the painting is.  Michael and I were both moved by it…. you truly captured the “spirit” of our home, right down to the dogs! I look forward to having it framed and hanging it in a prominent spot, wherever our next house is!  Maybe you will have to come and see it once it is in place.  Thank you again for sharing your talent with us and creating something we will forever treasure.”  Rye, NY

 

“We not only lost our beautiful home in Hurricane Katrina but also lost our memory treasures: family pictures, letters, drawings etc. I could deal with losing the material things in our home but I could not get past that I did not have our memory boxes. When I heard about Susan Stillman, I sent the only pictures that I had taken of our home the night before the storm with boards on the windows. Susan gave us back a beautiful picture of the house that I brought my sons home to as babies and raised them. Our picture is our only treasure from the past and something that my family will enjoy always. Thank you for all the joy you have given us with your wonderful talent.”  Biloxi, MS

 

A PAINTING

As a companion to our family portraits, the painting of our home hangs as a remembrance of childhood at ADAGE house. Family portraits reflect individual characters, but our home is a looking glass into all of our selves.

Every window allows one to peek inside to a moment past; a holiday finally arrived, a birthday celebrated, an emotion embraced. Flowers outside remind us of the blossoming seeds within, who also grew into their own lives. But both began at a second stilled by the painter’s brush.

Each time I glance it’s way, a touch is remembered, and a feeling long forgotten is experienced anew. The picture is a living momento and the gilded frame holds – our history. And our hearts to share them someday with the generations that will walk up our brick path. Into our home. And history will be refreshed.  Scarsdale, NY

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