A Commissioned Piece of Art Arrives

August 8, 2025

While I was exchanging emails with Dawnel at DeRubeis Fine Art about repairing “Autumn Wind,” I asked if DeRubeis still took commissions.

Dawnel (his wife) and office manager, said he did. He needed to have an idea of the size of the piece and what I wanted.

I wanted a piece featuring a Flame Skimmer dragonfly, approximately the size of the wine pours artworks, with a background of green and blue. I emailed Dawnel a picture of a Flame Skimmer dragonfly from my book, “A Dazzle of Dragonflies” by Forrest L. Mitchell and James L. Lasswell. This book is published by the Texas A & M University Press. If you like dragonflies, it is a beautiful book.

DeRubeis put together a concept and had Dawnel email it. It was gorgeous!

Once I agreed to the purchase and paid for it, DeRubeis finished the piece and sent it. It arrived yesterday, August 7 (Thursday), a day before the expected arrival date according to the tracking number look up.

I could hardly wait to see the piece. It was well wrapped and protecteded.

Bruce did most of the work in getting the wrapping off.

I was thrilled with how beautiful the artwork is!

The intricate details of the veins and crossveins in the dragonfly wings are absolutely breathtaking! I’m delighted by how the transparent wings let the vibrant background shine through. It looks like the dragonfly is soaring above brilliant blue water, with blurred green reflections and sparkling ripples. The artwork dazzles with stunning metallic shimmers that change with every angle you look at it.

The artwork conjures an image of a shimmering pond, where sunlight dances across the water’s surface and vibrant dragonflies dart playfully through the air.