As promised' here's a bit of info about our favorite local artists starting this month with:Richelle Flecke, a premier artist and illustrator, specializing in pen
and ink, and watercolor house portraits. Richelle received her formal training at Webster U. and from there went on to a career in fashion illustration. After many years illustrating and teaching illustration, Richelle found herself with shifting family priorities. As she told me, she became less interested in fashion and more interested in home. She found herself reading, not "Vogue", but "Parenting" magazine.


She accidentally entered into the home portrait arena when she did a portrait of her own home with a banner above it reading "Bless This House". She says that painting her home felt immediately "right" and was followed very shortly by requests for home portraits from people seeing her original.

Richelle says she never gets bored or loses her creative spark because each home is so different, has its own character, its own charm. She is currently working on a "Wizard of Oz" customized house portrait featuring a yellow brick road for the front walk, a portrait of Mom, Dad and Daughter (wearing ruby slippers) in front of the house, and the words "There's no place like home" above. She sounds serious about including a Munchkin peeking out from behind a tree and, of course, a rainbow in the sky! Does that sound like fun or what?!