The recent shelter-in-place orders sparked some major creativity in Days of our Lives' Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans) and Andrea Hall (ex-Hattie Adams/Samantha Evans), who are proud to announce that they've released a collection of watercolor art called the Westbrook Collection.
The first project by the company -- whose name stems from the pair's summer vacations as kids to Westbrook, Connecticut -- is a collection of "Americana" cards inspired by the sisters' love of the American flag.
"We didn't set out to do a Fourth of July collection," Deidre shares with Soap Opera Digest. "Annie was here visiting for a couple of months. We both watercolor, so we began watercoloring and we ended up with a couple of flag paintings. We both love our flags. We said, 'Wait a minute. July 4th is coming up. Why don't we make a set of July 4th cards and make them available to the fans?' That was the inspiration. It was like a slow drip idea."
The sisters painted together at Deidre's house in California, and Andrea shares that it was mostly in the afternoon. "The best time of the day is when you have the best available daylight," she explains. "We painted across from each other at the table after we had lunch. If I had a problem, I'd say, 'Oh, my gosh. I've got too much water here,' and she'd throw me the paper towels and say, 'Sop it up. Quick! Sop it up and redo it.' And we shared techniques that we both learned in different venues."
When fans buy the Hall sisters' art, they're getting a real piece of the pair's history. As Deidre explains, their summer trips to Westbrook were some of the most magical times of their lives.
"A number of our relatives had bought little summer homes there. I mean, I'm talking wood frames, weather-beaten shore-lined houses down by the old post road," she shares. "We would go back there for the summer and there would be all of our cousins, and all of the adults were thrilled to be together. And there was sand-digging and swimming and walking along the little jetties and hunting for crabs and cookouts at night. It was just a magical, magical time and it has magical memories for Annie and me."
For more information on the Westbrook Collection and to purchase the company's Fourth of July cards, check out Deidre Hall's official website.
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