
TESTIMONIALS
Cynthia Decker Lawyer
"I am so pleased to share my appreciation, and heartfelt love for Livy Hitchcock and her pastels; a true gift from God. I have been witness to the beautiful paintings she has provided to others over the 35 years that I have been blessed to know Livy. Every painting shows such detail that the beholder is awed and touched by the reality of it, and experiences a feeling that the subject’s true being is seen.
In 1991, Livy painted my 3 children so that my husband Brian and I could enjoy that as a gift to each other; you see, he was suffering with cancer at age 37, and that was a gift he could gaze at and cherish. Tom, Livy’s husband and photographer, took many pictures of my children, and Livy created a pastel portrait with amazing details that were stunning. Our children played together for years, and she knew them so well. This portrait is always displayed proudly in my home.
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Livy worked with a photo from my grandparent’s farm and painted a beautiful likeness on slate, that is so beautifully detailed you would think the photograph was on the slate. Cherished memories, as I see the painting on my dining room wall.
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Livy gave more of herself to us when my sweet daughter Kristina was diagnosed with cancer at age 41 in 2019. Livy knew my daughter’s love of dragonflies and gifted Kristina with a pastel; and then a print for me. After my dear girl passed last July, Livy also wanted to provide me with a portrait of Kristina. I love the pastel of my daughter with her little dog, Moose. Livy added a dragonfly to the portrait for a special touch. In the days following Kristina’s passing, friends and family saw dragonflies often. This painting will continue to be in our living room and one day after we are gone, the heirloom will go to Kristina’s children, my dear sweet grandchildren.
Livy also created a pastel portrait of Kristina and her beloved husband, Collin. He loves the portrait, and again it’s so “alive” with detail and captures who they are. Just so wonderful. The portraits help to keep Kristina close to us, as she is in our hearts forever.
It is amazing how Livy is able to put all of herself into the paintings she creates; she is truly blessed with her gift by God and does his healing work. Livy’s paintings are heirlooms for everyones’ family."
With love and sincere thanks,
Cynthia Decker Lawyer
Dawn Anna
"At first I was skeptical when accepting Livy Hitchcock’s offer to paint my Lauren’s portrait. Not because I questioned her talent...that was clearly displayed in examples of her work. Nor did I doubt her desire to give such a generous gift from her heart as upon meeting her we hit it off immediately, and I knew her intentions were sincere.
No, my skepticism was rooted in the fact that she never knew nor had even met my daughter. How could she ever capture my Lauren’s love, spirit, laughter, light, giving, humility, empathy and all those intangibles that made up the very essence of her soul? It would be impossible.
Livy herself was so energetic and, as I said, we had “hit it off” so well that I felt I would be turning down a true gift of the heart from a friend. I agreed that Livy should do Lauren’s painting, and we worked together using photos of Lauren to come up with an idea. Working only with these photos and the love and inspiration in her heart Livy began drawing.
When the finished work arrived in the mail I was shaking with anticipation and, honestly, with fear knowing that no one could have possibly captured my daughter’s spirit. I tore away the protective wrapping. When I saw Lauren’s face I began crying. I couldn’t stop crying. They were tears of utter joy.
I don’t know how Livy did it but she captured Lauren’s spirit perfectly. Looking at the portrait of Lauren it felt as if she were looking over my shoulder at something the rest of us couldn’t see. She is peaceful. Content. Little Lulu is by her side, and Pepper has no intention of leaving them. I am content also. Each time I look at the painting it calms me because I know Lauren is calm and at peace. No one has ever captured my girl the way Livy has.
This is an artist.
Thank you and bless you for your incredible gift Livy. "
Dawn
Tom and Lori Hunter
Livy Hitchcock presented my husband and I with a pastel of our daughter “Jessica” after her death in 2003. This act of love touched us deeply as Livy was able to capture the essence of our daughters being and give us a gift to cherish for our lifetime and for generations to come. The artwork has given us a glimpse of this beautiful soul that made a difference in this world even though she touched it for a brief 16 years.
When you lose a child, no matter the age, you yearn to have their name said out loud, you search for any pictures that will give you something tangible to hold on too... to remember...something for their life to “live on” even though it has been abruptly stopped. Livy gave us this comfort and helped us begin to heal. We learned to “Live On”...not move on as some like to say.
In this art work, Livy, who had never met our daughter, used photos of Jessica from Jessica’s high school Homecoming, as a small child while on a family hike; as she dipped her hand into a cool creek and also a picture of our yard to combine Jessica’s death age with her younger self. Livy creatively joined Jessica’s two ages together along with our front yard tree that Jessica grew up climbing in.
In addition, our artist placed a dragonfly in the landscape which has become a sign, we feel, from our daughter.
Notice how Jessica is bare foot and stepped into the stream. We love this as it reminds us of her adventurous spirit and the meaning of her baptism. Livy created this elusion, if you will, this scenario of our girl and her life span. Such a gift, such a talent to be able to create for the viewer, such intense feelings through artwork. And yes, Jessica’s eyes follow us and we love it!!!!
We proudly display this gift of love in our living room for all to see and remember and to be introduced to a young women’s memory of her life that was taken to soon.
With much gratitude,
Tom and Lori Hunter
Sarah Pennywitt
"I love my portrait! Not because it looks like me, but because it transports me to an amazing place and time every time I look at it! Livy not only captures your likeness, she captures your essence and the feeling of the place and time when/where the portrait was done! My husband and I love St John in the USVI and I am transported there with every glance! Further, my husband suffers from myriad ailments yet he looks so very healthy and we both look so very happy in the portrait, because we are!"
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-Sarah
Gorden & Gibson Lanier
"14 years ago we asked Livy to paint a portrait of our first grandson. When we received it, we were absolutely amazed at the way that her painting captured his personality. A few years later, we asked her to paint a portrait of our second grandson. Our grandsons have very different personalities and she was able to identify the differences and the two paintings perfectly reflect those differences.
Next came our first granddaughter. Once again, she grabbed her on the canvas.
Finally, our second granddaughter came along and once again her artistic talents revealed every aspect of her personality. Livy, I cannot express our happiness with your artistic ability and we will be eternally grateful for having met you and for getting you to paint these portraits"