BORBAY

Carl's Wedding Present

When my good friend Carl Kinney asked me to design his wedding invitation, I was flattered. Considering he proposed to his lovely fiancée, Heather, under a tree in Central Park – I decided to paint the location, and use this images as the foundation of their invitation.

Location, East Drive, 60's

Initially, Carl sent me a Google map directing me towards Strawberry Field – right across the street from The Dakota. Armed with a photograph of the tree, I realized it wasn’t the right location – so the quest began to find the right spot.

Early Drawing

After several calls, Carl emailed me three other pictures to help me locate their love tree.

More Drawing

By zooming in closely to one of the pictures, I was able to find the visual detail which would eventually help me find the location – a brown sign, reading “Keep Right for East 72nd.”

Another Day, Another Salmon Sky

Channeling my inner MacGyver, I traced East Drive, locating the only three signs fitting the visual description.

Tree Taking Shape

Narrowing down the location to a half mile stretch of road, I zoomed in to the distinctive trunk of the tree and began holding my phone up to any large trunk to identify a match.

Yellow Flavor

Finally, after nearly three hours of getting up close and personal with every tree on the East Side of Central Park in the 60′s and 70′s, I had a match.

Solid Dark Outlines = Joy

I sent a quick snapshot to confirm with Carl – once the location was discovered, the painting began.

Tree's Brown Now

As always, I had many visitors while I was painting away – this particular afternoon included a gaggle of little girls, telling me about painting and asking me approximately five to eighty-three questions.

Cue Yellow Highlights

I learned about the latest and coolest trends in painting parties – it’s always nice to know what’s happening with the youth of today.

Grass is Green, Sky is Blue

The painting rounds the corner, nearing the plate.

And I'm Spent

A nice, blown-out shot of the tree and the tree on a relatively small canvas.

Carl's Wedding Present

Good luck Carl and Heather – the invitations will be finished this weekend.