A few weeks ago I wrote about one of my career successes. And last week I published an account of one of my most challenging experiences.

This is a story of one of my more creative ideas . . .

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In 1999, we were doing business with a brand-new client: a group of the country’s most successful civil trial attorneys. The destination:  Florence, Italy. The president of the association had selected CTP because of our reputation for creativity. We’d booked the best hotels, restaurants and entertainers. That stuff was expected.

Florence was already pretty spectacular . . . what “magic” could I add?  I ruminated for days. Hmmm . . .

… Cradle of the Renaissance … source of some of the world’s greatest paintings, sculptures and architecture … the genius of Michelangelo, da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Donatello … the patronage of the Medici family and the Catholic church who commissioned thousands of masterpieces . . .

Wouldn’t it have been amazing to witness the creativity of one of these artists?  Although we would view countless masterpieces during the course of the itinerary, how could I replicate the experience of genius?  How could I bring art to life?

My first thought:  Replicate the Pageant of the Masters!  This annual Laguna Beach (California) event is known for its tableaux vivant, or, “living pictures” – re-creations of classical paintings with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces.

A great idea … but a bit too ambitious. Not to mention, expensive.

Next thought:  Hire an artist to replicate the creation of a single painting.  The  process of putting paint to canvas.  The composition … the proportion … the colors … the lighting … the brushwork … the negative space … the focal point … the depth …

The yawns!  Observing the creative process might be fascinating for a few minutes, but beyond that – for most people – it would be an exercise in tedium.  Quite literally: “watching paint dry.”

Still, the idea persisted.  Nagged at me.  There must be a way . . . and then – Eureka!

A friend was acquainted with an artist whose work I admired. With just a bit of brainstorming –  an idea took shape. (I love when that happens!)

I commissioned Scott Fike to paint a scene of the famous Ponte Vecchio.  The image would grace the cover of the promotional brochure and become the logo for all conference literature.

We would produce limited-edition giclée prints of the original artwork. Scott would sign and number each print, and each couple would receive one as a pillow gift.

But would I really be the “creative queen” if I stopped there?  I think not!  Next step – persuade Scott to come to Florence.  Shockingly (not so much), he agreed!  I had the vision of Scott creating a painting in the lobby of the 5-star Excelsior Hotel.  I could smell the oil paints!  In my mind, I saw a traditional atelier – littered with drop cloths, a battered wooden easel, brushes and paints, turpentine, a curvacious female nude draped with a white sheet . . . and the artist himself, singularly focused on his craft, looking the part of a bohemian – right down to his bandana’d forehead.

Not surprisingly, the Excelsior’s general manager did not share my vision and emphatically denied the plan to mess up his classically opulent marble lobby with the accoutrements necessary to recreate an artist’s loft.

But the truth was, we were spending a LOT of money at his property, and the truth IS – I can be very compelling when I have a good idea.  Tenacity is most definitely part of the creative process, and being the “creative queen” (have I already mentioned that?), he was putty in my hands.  He eventually relented – though he firmly resisted the idea of nude models in the lobby.

The event – a masterpiece!  As people came and went through the lobby, they witnessed the evolution of the painting from the initial pencil sketch to a finished oil painting, featuring the famous Duomo.  The finished painting (which was not yet dry!) was auctioned off during our final night gala dinner, with the proceeds going to our client’s philanthropic foundation.

All the way around, a masterful work of art (if I do say so myself)!