Nothing here is completed, just inching along, a few hours on one project, move on to the next, and finish up each day with some drawing time in the air-conditioned studio as opposed to the swamp-cooled painting workshop.
Baby steps.
Inching Along the Commissions
Reminder: “commission” is Art Speak for a custom piece of art. Here are two in progress:
No matter how often I paint the Oak Grove Bridge, it challenges my ability to draw with a paintbrush. Drawing with a paintbrush is something that is sneered at in the Art World, but I am hard-pressed to imagine how one of those loosey-goosey painters would handle this subject.
I sent this photo to my customer, and he declared me to be finished. He was actually nicer than that – he said, “As I said before, you are the best!” Aw shucks, thank you, DB. You are a dream customer.
The giant circle continues to develop. The surface of smooth plywood with several base coats of paint is different than canvas and will take multiple layers to cover. That’s fine, because I can get tighter and better with each layer. This is my preferred method of painting, fix, fix, fix some more, and fix again, called “glazing” in Art Speak. That is how I painted the bridge commission.
My customer the citrus grower asked if the trees would be darker, because I sent a photo taken earlier than this one. Then I took this photo, and because the paint is wet here, it is reflective so it still looks pale. I kept painting, and then sent this photo:
I love this subject matter just as much as the Oak Grove Bridge and am quite happy about getting to spend many hours making it look as good as possible.
More Green Tunnel
I’ve been painting the Green Tunnel from looking at the photo on my laptop. The progress left me unsure of my abilities and of the results. Sometimes commissions cause this sort of insecurity. (But I’d rather paint than go to counseling).
When the print finally arrived, I was surprised by how helpful it was, in a different way than painting from the screen. I can enlarge details on the screen, but there is something more tangible (duh!) about ink on paper.
The difference here is a photo taken with a phone (above) and a photo taken with a camera (lower). Neither one does the real painting any justice.
Now, let’s see what happened when I had the printed photo to work from.
The goal is not to match the photo exactly but to make the painting be as appealing or more so. I don’t think it is finished yet, but I already like it better.
Mulling it Over
That coat of arms requires much mulling, both by me and the customer. I have done 4 revisions using Photoshop Junior. (The current wonkiness of the blog is only allowing photos to appear as squares, so these pictures aren’t showing you the entire image on new photos.)
We will continue to revise and discuss this. I have asked my customer if she has an idea to replace one of the fleur de lis (those silver symbols in the red sections) so there is more variety. She is probably still mulling that over. She is considering #2 and #4; I think when we get together, we will find a satisfactory solution in a #5 or #6.
This is one of the most unusual and difficult commissions I have ever tackled. Any ideas? input? advice? I will take it all “under advisement”, which means I reserve the rights to adapt, adopt, or ignore.
Another Think
Ever heard the saying, “He has another thing coming”? The correct version of this is actually, “. . .another THINK coming”. Really. I’m not making this up.
As I was working with my Friend/Customer on her coat of arms, we designed it together. I took the approach of “The Customer is Always Right”, and didn’t look at it critically through my own lens of opinion.
There’s nothing wrong with that in commission work.
Or is there?
My Friend/Customer wasn’t as happy with the results as we had hoped. I showed her every step of the process, both the designing and the painting. We discussed shapes and colors and placements and sizes, but something didn’t mesh for her after she received the painting.
This troubles me, not in the sense of being annoyed with her, but in wondering where I went astray in the process. My job is to help the customer know and get what she wants, and I failed.
My conclusion is that if a customer thinks she knows her mind, don’t leave her out there in Design Land alone. Be critical (as in helpful and discerning), make suggestions, and help her see the best possibilities instead of letting her drive the process alone.
We are now rethinking the design. Here are the original, the painted version, and a sloppy photoshop revision.
The shield is ever so slightly larger, some ribbons are narrower, and some ribbons are now gone.
She is a good friend, we communicate often, and together we will solve this!
Odd Job, Day 5
Back to the coat of arms painting, an odd job of an oil painting commission.
I mixed and applied the correct green, along with a strong purple for the bottom ribbon. (It will need some detailing).
Then I mixed and applied a more golden yellow and a stronger blue.
The edges are a little weak, but the entire piece will get black outlines. This is a simple painting, but there is very little forgiveness with strong colors each abutting other strong clean colors. It requires a lot of drying time in between layers.
Another Odd Job
I love these jobs! They each pose a new set of challenges, preventing me from coasting, forcing me to dig deep into my resources on the premise that everything is figure-out-able.
First, we worked out a design with Photoshop Junior.
Next, paint.
Odd Job, Day 4
Yesterday I showed you the not-so-good green on the background of the odd job, a Coat of Arms for my customer/friend. (Remember, “odd” means “unusual” – I am NOT insulting my friend or her job here!) 
Since beginning to oil paint, I have met up with two new yellows and one new blue. It is time to get a grasp on how they all interact to make greens.
My friend said, and I agree, “More Kelly than lime”. Photoshop Junior used Kelly green, but I wasn’t very careful with mixing in the first pass over the canvas.
Clearly we need the second green down in the middle row.
Better, but too wet to continue.
Tomorrow is the end of the month listicle.
This coat of arms will have to wait. Another odd job awaits! (How’s that for an exciting cliff-hanger?)
Completed Commission
When I told you the story of painting a commissioned piece of Lost Canyon, I may have accidentally misled you into thinking that all the changes and decisions were a nuisance.
Not so!
The customer and I had a great working partnership. He was discerning and decisive and helpful, not a pain in the least. My goal was to paint exactly what he wanted, but also to help him explore the idea even further than his initial request. We both enjoyed the process and ended up happy with the result. (The color is way better in person!)
Odd Job
I was asked to paint something highly unusual in an oval canvas. It had some built-in difficulties: the subject matter took some research, it was particularly challenging to get onto the canvas, and an oval is a little difficult to secure on an easel.
All the customer had to show me was these 2 blurry little labels.
How are you supposed to paint from those?
Glad you asked – I knew people who could help. Those good folks sent me this:
How is that helpful?
It is less blurry and Photoshop Elements will help me get it ready to use.
How is this going to turn into an oil painting?
Great question – thanks for asking. I converted it to black and white, enlarged it to fit the canvas, borrowed some graphite paper, and traced it onto the oval canvas.
Why does someone want this, who do you know, and why did you say yes to such a weird challenge?
More will be revealed next week. Stay tuned!