Emily Kaye Studio

Invitation suite elements from Olivia and Jeremy’s wedding at St. Jude the Apostle Church, Baton Rouge, LA. 📸

It’s funny how some people are blessed with words. I’m not one of them. I have pictures, memories, and paint. This painting lived in my mind for months as I braced myself to say goodbye. It’s how I imagine my Papa in eternity—out in his pasture with his cows. As my cousin Jordan, who does have the words, so beautifully said: “I imagine his heaven to be a version of this cow pasture, with all the people who have gone before him waiting just down the road.”

This painting was quite special and emotional to create. It’s a house I have entered and exited thousands of times since birth- Nenan and Uncle’s - an extension of home for so many, but also the home of my great grandparents. We never look at it as a place where something awful happened, but the truth remains—this is where my great-grandfather was taken from us in 1983. Thinking about the front door, who entered that night, and how it changed the course of our family history made this an incredibly deep and personal piece to paint. I even painted the door as it was in 1983, before my aunt and uncle replaced it.
Today, I finally got my hands on Home of the Happy. I haven’t started reading yet, but just holding it feels significant. I know it will be powerful, and I also know it will reopen wounds that have never fully healed. But this story deserves to be told, and I’m grateful to my cousin for bringing it into the world.
Honored to have my art be a small part of this journey. ❤️

I’m so relieved to finally have someone to help me stuff invitations 💌