House painter

SHERESE GORE Laker Weekly

Carol Plaskon, who left software development 10 years ago to sell real estate, gives her clients a watercolor painting of their newly purchased or sold home. She works for Lake Team Realty.

Art is an imitation of life for Carol Plaskon of Wirtz.

Instead of a bottle of wine or a gift basket, the associate broker at Lake Team Realty offers a unique housewarming gift to her clients: their own watercolor painting of the newly purchased, or sold, home.

"I just love everything about houses, from selling to painting them," Plaskon said.

In 2002, faced with a downsized career in software development, Plaskon moved to the lake and a new career in real estate to "take charge of my own destiny," she said.

Around the same time, a birthday gift of art lessons sparked Plaskon's desire to turn a lifelong passion for crafts into self-expression through paint.

"I think there was something inside of me that wanted to extend itself onto canvas," she said.

Although Plaskon paints many subjects, her first house painting was for her daughter, Paige Nelson, in celebration of Nelson's home purchase two years ago.

"They were totally blown away," she said of her daughter's reaction.

Each house portrait takes a month to complete, Plaskon said. When listing a home to sell, her son, Grant Plaskon, a photographer, takes its picture.

Plaskon later sketches the image and applies the watercolor. The fluid colors of the medium fit perfectly for capturing the aesthetic of the lake, she said.

Meanwhile, her technical nature is never far behind, aiding Plaskon in rendering the clean lines and proportion necessary in architectural drawings.

"It's not like an abstract [painting]. You really can't deviate from it that much."

Since starting the projects two years ago, Plaskon has given away a half-dozen of the paintings. The gifts especially resonate with sellers who are leaving behind fond memories of their home, she said.

"It challenges me," Plaskon said of the portraits. "I like to capture the details, that the person who bought or sold it can re-create the joy that they had."

Plaskon's artwork can be seen at Artfully Framed at the Lake, Westlake Library, Blackhorse Manor Antiques and Envisions Distinctive Interiors in Burnt Chimney.