
A few months ago, the Chairman of the
San Francisco Luxury Marketing Council approached the Vice President of Marketing for the
Montage Residences, Ashley Damron Mohan, Vice President, Ohana Real Estate Investors. He was thinking that she should know about a fellow member,
the CEO of Ann Rea, Inc. He thought that the Montage Residences should partner with Artist
Ann Rea.
Ms. Mohan's response: “Her work is really very nice but what am I going to do with art?”
To be fair, an
Experience of Art is a new concept and not everyone gets it right away. But now she knows, this an extraordinary corporate gift.
Recently the VP at
Montage was trying to think of a way to provide an unforgettable thank you to one of the delightful wine loving
Montage Residences owners who has brought two other owners into the
Montage Deer Valley community. Then she remembered her brieft conversation with the Chairman of the
Luxury Marketing Council.
Maybe Ann could paint the owner’s vineyards? So the Chairman arranged a conference call. She learned that not only I would be able to paint their vineyards but also that an
Experience of Art was much more than that.
I would meet her clients in their vineyard. We would experience the landscape together. Then I would return to complete a series of field studies in and of the vineyards. While I’m developing the series I’ll be maintaining a dedicated online diary with video clips, musings, and sketches. They’ll actually witness the creative process. They’ll preview the field studies on
annrea.com and choose one to be reinterpreted on a larger custom scale. I’ll also chronicle the experience in a hand signed storyboard. Once the final large-scale canvas is complete the
Montage will host an unveiling party to toast the creation.
I knew that Ashley Damron Mohan, Vice President,
Ohana Real Estate Investors of now understood the
Experience of Art concept when she said, “I could go to any number of galleries and acquire an amazing painting for a homeowner, but it would not even come close to the personal memory and meaning that your
Experience of Art will give my clients.”
Of course an
Experience of Art is not limited to Wine Country. I'll be flying to
Montage Deer Valley next month to begin the first of a series of Aspens in Winter.