Category: commissions

More commissions

The German Shepherd is named Dante, and there is no rush, thank goodness! I’ve never painted an animal before, so I’ll need all the time that the customer will allow me to learn how. The almost blank canvas will become redbud blooms. And the dancing feet deserve their own photo, because this is a special little project for my dancing friend, Sierra Swinney.

Sierra has been accepted into some Big Deal Ballet Thing in Alabama this summer and it will cost her a ton of money. When this 4×6″ painting is finished, I will auction it on eBay and the money we earn will help her get to the Big Deal. (Yes, I know it is called something else, but more will have to be revealed in a later posting.)

Last Saturday at the Art Co-op

The title doesn’t mean that the Co-op is closing – it means, well, never mind, it means last Saturday. Anyway, there were several of us who set ourselves up outside to show and sell our wares. My things were off to the left through that gate.

A nice man named Patrick brought some pruning shears and we took care of those errant acacia branches so I could paint without getting slapped in the back of the head. That would have been a serious distraction. The poppy painting got very detailed as you can see:

If you compare it to the entry on May 29 you can see the tremendous improvement. Looks a bit overly bright in this photo. After this dries I will add touches of lupine color in the background and put in lacy poppy leaves . It has to be dry before I try those, because they are very specific and if I mess them up, I want to be able to remove them without wiping out a flower!

oil painting in progress The Art Co-op in Three Rivers

Get ‘er done!

These paintings are finished and just drying. The top one is for an upcoming show at the Creative Center in Visalia; Sawtooth with lupine and the snow scene are commissions. The little square is a view of Timber Gap with flowers in the foreground – this is the 3rd time I’ve painted it (but with little changes) because it sells quickly. The 8×10 of Farewell Gap is a wedding gift – unless the parents of the bride decide to keep it! (just kidding, K & T!) Wow! 4 of these 5 are of Mineral King!

commission oil painting mineral king paintings

the painting process

A former drawing student and good friend asked me to paint poppies for her entry-way. Because she is also a weaver and a student of the Fibonacci principle, she had definite (and good) ideas about the design. After much discussion, this is what I drew for her:

Scary, hunh? Good this you know that I can draw, or you might be doubting my abilities as an artist after seeing this!

N okayed the sketch, so I put it on the canvas.

Good thing you know I can paint, or you might be really worried at this point! I decided that the 2 flowers on the bottom are too close in size and too evenly placed, so as I applied the second layer of paint, I made slight adjustments.

California poppies commission oil painting

Which end is up?

There are several commissioned paintings that need to be done before the mural begins. This is not one of them – it is a commission, but the commissioner said, “No Hurry”. (music to my ears!) He has a great 16×20″ photo of Sawtooth with Mineral Peak behind it and has been wanting a painting. His vision is a panorama shaped painting on wrapped canvas. I looked up available sizes, and he chose 18×36″. I cropped his photo using brown craft paper and began to outline the shapes in a gray-blue color.

Next, I turned both pieces upside down, changed to a reddish brown, and corrected the shapes. Sounds crazy, but it works! Why? When it is right side up my brain tells my eye “You know what Sawtooth looks like; just draw it!” When it is upside down, my eye says “A little longer here, a little wider there, this is in line with that, that is to the right of this. . .” while my brain says, “Hunh?”

Mineral King oil paintings

Designing a mural

The most important information I needed before beginning the design was the wall dimensions. Those numbers showed me the proportions of the design, and allowed me to see how big the picture needed to be in order to have a human look the right size while standing in front of the mural. I decided 5′-6″ was the average height and found that spot on the scaled down version of the wall. Then I spread out all my photos. After I saw how many there were, I might have had to go into the house for a knitting break and a bit of chocolate. (But I can quit any time I want.) There were many more than this, but you probably get the idea without having to see them all.

Fall into Spring

Yes, I accept commissions in oil paint. A lady saw a red leaf during Studio Tour (March 19-21) and said she’d like 2 more to go with it. I pulled out my photos, she chose two others, and here are the results:

Lupine

A nice lady (with great taste) bought a poppy painting during the Studio Tour. She requested a lupine painting to go with it. Here you go, Connie! (see you at the Redbud Festival and I promise not to sell it to anyone else first)

Commissions in progress

Commissions are a great part of an art business. I get to paint knowing the customer is standing there with open arms and a check! It is wonderful to simply paint what floats my boat; it is just as wonderful to paint knowing someone really wants the piece. Here are some of the current projects:

Big words

People often confuse the word “consignment” with the word “commission”. May I help? Consignment: agreement to pay a supplier of goods after the goods are sold. Commission: to give an order for or authorize the production of a piece of art. I’d like to add a third word here: “conversation”. It means an exchange of words. I learned a long time ago not to count my chickens before they are hatched, although that is still my greatest talent! (also known as “optimism”) For the first several years of my business, I used to get so excited after someone said he’d like me to do a drawing for him. I was counting eggs, chickens and dollars, forgetting that until money exchanges hands and there are photographs on the table, it was simply c o n v e r s a t i o n. However, it never hurts to think about those conversations and tentatively plan. A lady emailed me to say she’d be coming to the studio during Studio Tour and she hoped I had some paintings of Fiesta ware. I don’t, but have been looking for a reason to paint some. I know that she did not commission me and hasn’t committed to buy anything. That’s okay, because I’m eager to do this subject matter. If I do a good job but it doesn’t suit her, someone else will probably want it! Here are the beginnings of three new paintings (probably best viewed from the back of a fast horse, or perhaps without corrective lenses at this point):

Oh, look! There are 2 Mineral King paintings – what a surprise! 😎

commission oil painting fiesta ware mineral king paintings