Community Magazine May 2019

76 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE FRIEDA SCHWEKY G RACE DANA CHALOUH is a busy wife and mother of three who managed to turn her favorite hobby into a career. After buying her first house, Grace decided to tap into her artistic talent and paint a few pieces to complete the design and vibe. A family member saw the art Grace had created for herself and was amazed. She insisted that Grace share her talent with the world and begin to sell. Not thinking much of it, Grace painted something and posted the artwork up on Instagram. Within three hours the painting sold. That was back in March of 2013. Grace hasn’t stopped creating since. “From the moment my first painting sold, I began getting messages and phone calls for more of my art!” exclaimed Grace. “I was really shocked at first, thinking to myself ‘who would want my art?’ Luckily for me, a lot of people do and I was able to turn my crafty hobby into a profit-driven business.” When you contact Grace, don’t expect to look through a showroom of pre-made art. Grace makes custom art for each client and space. She paints on canvas as well as on walls, and if she dreams something up that’s 3D, you’ll get something truly unforgettable. The only limit Grace puts on her jobs is her own imagination. Lately she’s been getting into producing Judaica, painting great rabbis and Kotel images. Grace has also started working with home decor. Grace has been making drip-painted resin wooden boards. Her clients use them as challah boards, as display pieces to hold charcuterie, and as cheese platters. Many businesses have commissioned Grace to create one-of-a-kind 3D art installations for display. Grace tends to push herself beyond what’s expected of her, taking on intricate work, such as painting a detailed print on a wall or even creating her own wallpaper pattern by hand. Grace's husband is very supportive of her, lending a hand or holding the ladder she’s standing on, whatever the job calls for. She’s also grateful for her parents who always encourage her to keep painting and creating, because that is what makes her happy. Grace is an inspiration to her family and her customers. She balances career and home life gracefully, and creates works of art that are both beautiful and surprising. Many artists focus on one medium, and perfect one signature style. Grace is blessed to be multi-talented, and is able to work in different media and create imaginative works of art for a wide range of settings. Check out more of her work at @gracespaintings. Graces Paintings- G ce More Than Just Paint on Canvas StockBroker Office Grace was commissioned to revamp an office space for a stock broker company. What she did was cover an entire wall with newspaper which she modge podged onto the wall to create a one-of-a-kind wallpaper. She then did colorful graffiti artwork on the remaining walls to contrast all of the black and white. Living room Here is a hand painted wallpaper design which was painted by Grace for a family living room. Grace is proud that she is able to mimic a lot of designs and to create wallpaper patterns. She is a self-proclaimed perfectionist, so she makes sure before she starts that she is able to produce work that is up to her high standards. basement playroom This is Grace’s favorite. She was commissioned to paint a basement in a family home. At first, as usual, the task seemed daunting and overwhelming. Grace began to doubt herself. The thought “what if it doesn’t turn out right?” popped in and out of her head. Ultimately, she met the challenge, and ended up extremely satisfied, and proud of herself. The colors and placement of each item came together perfectly, and Grace managed to surprise even herself. painting of Hacham Yitzhak Yosef Work on canvas is also a big part of what Grace does. This painting of Hacham Yitzhak Yosef is being auctioned off in coming months (for more information contact Grace). This is just the beginning of the Judaica artwork Grace is planning to create.