Category: commissions

Annie’s Things

That is the title of a commissioned painting just completed. A thoughtful supervisor wanted a going-away gift for a seasonal employee. The employee played a role by the name of Annie, and these are the props she used. Actually, she had a different lantern, but it got taken away for a glass replacement. Boy was I ever excited to find one in my cabin that looked very similar. The hard part was that I photographed the items with a different lantern and then had to substitute the new one from reality. Merging pieces from different places is very difficult because determining the appropriate proportions and scale is sort of a guessing game.

commission oil painting

A large drawing in progress

This is the picture that has required 3 photo sessions so far. Yesterday I returned around noon, the time I initially photographed the scene. However, I forgot to take into account the changing season and new location of the sun. So, I now have the new photos with more visual information but the shadows are in the wrong places! That’s a workable problem – the other photos are showing me how to handle the light. I just may finish this next week after all!

Gaposis

Back in the day when I used a real camera, a complicated drawing might take 2 rolls of film. Now that the restraint of “wasting film” has been obliterated, I take as many photos as I want! It is such a nice thing to never stop to change rolls. Despite the abundance of images, there are always more needed. That is why there is a large gap in the middle of this drawing.

Here is the right side so you can see a bit more detail. The stone steps are so beautiful that I forget to admire the (unfinished) river!

commission pencil work drawing

The Painting Factory continues to produce

I have decided that there are 3 kinds of sky colors applicable to my painting:

Photography blue – can be washed out, greyish blue or fakey overdone blue
Real blue, so frighteningly blue that no one would believe it in a painting
Believable painting blue that most painters just fall back on – default blue!

Blick.com had a great sale on 10×10″ canvases. Since I have enjoyed the 6×6″ squares so much, I decided to try these. There may be a show in Sequoia over Labor Day, and it makes sense to paint subjects that are relevant to that area. These are all from photos that I have used in the past, but the square format adds a challenge and makes them look new.

commission oil paintings oil paintings Sequoia painting

Drawing again!

One more week in the studio due to technical difficulties with the mural. The Mural Team will sort it out, and I should be back on the wall next week. Meanwhile, back at the studio, I am working on this large drawing of a beautiful back yard on the river.

It is taking a pile of reference photos, and a list of more needed is growing daily.

This is the upper left corner. I started there, and now am jumping all over the drawing because I am missing so much visual information. No matter how many photos I take, I always seem to need more. This is because people hire me for accuracy, not just my “impression”. My art is called “realism” for a reason!

commissions pencil drawing

Dante, Finished?

(the weirdness around his nose is the reflection in the wet paint)

I am a one woman painting factory

One might think that after painting about 80 pieces of citrus, one might tire of the subject. One would be wrong.

The rough early stages no longer fill me with dread and worry that this will be the painting on which my career croaks.

These are for a special purpose and have a bit of a story. I bought 12 2×2″ canvases to try – no, oops, I bought 12 packages of 5 each! 60 of these little canvases should last me awhile.

Dante is just drying, and I have finally finished this early a.m. painting of Mineral King in addition to almost finishing a commission of redbud.

This is a table full of dreams and plans. It will take some time to think about my current inventory and upcoming shows before I know what sizes to paint which subjects. Anyone have a working crystal ball they can lend to me??

oil painting commissions

Dante, Improved

Here is Dante again after several hours. The proportions got reworked a bit, the background darkened, and more paint added all over. The eye on the right is a little weird, but the paint is too wet to respond to any commands from a brush!

Dante

This is a commissioned piece in progress of a magnificent German Shepherd. The customer is unable to see my emailed photos, so I am showing it to him in this fashion. You all can peek over our shoulders – we don’t mind!

Dancing Feet on eBay!

Sierra Swinney is 15 years old and has lived in Three Rivers her entire life. Ballet seems like an odd obsession for someone who loves to backpack with her dad in the local mountains, but Sierra has been dancing since she was four and dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. She has been accepted to the American Ballet Theatre’s summer program in Alabama, and this little painting is for auction on eBay to help pay her way. You can go to eBay and bid on it now, and let’s make lots of money for Sierra!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110554193307#ht_500wt_896

ballerina art original oil painting Three Rivers