commissioned painting

With the reference photo on my desktop computer, I cropped it to fit 8×10, as Brenda requested. When I enlarged Violet’s face to study the details I could see that a close up, done horizontally, would make a more dynamic painting than doing her whole body in a vertical layout, especially on such a small canvas. I ran this idea past Brenda, showing her both options, and she agreed. I was off and running! For my commissioned work I choose … Read More

This is the first of two commissions which have occupied all my painting hours recently. Normally I would not take on a project like this, since human faces are always a struggle for me. Maybe it’s just a mental block, but faces are my biggest challenge. In this case, it was hard to say no. The couple who asked me to paint this scene with their three grandchildren have been great supporters of my art, buying several original paintings over … Read More

Phew! It has been a very busy few months with my art – not much time spent creating paintings, but with all sorts of art-related activities. I didn’t realize exactly how much I’ve had going on until I took the time to compile this list: Competitions I entered a total of 10 different originals into 3 juried competitions, one accepting only watercolors and the other two open to all media Exhibits – Entered and hung 11 originals and prints in … Read More

Dog portraits are one of my favorite subjects, so when I was commissioned to paint beautiful Bandit it was a delight. We decided on an acrylic painting on an 8×10 canvas. My customer Erin sent me a few reference photos and I was immediately drawn to the one with the tilted head (#1 in my photo collage shown below). But on closer inspection, I didn’t particularly like the glare on Bandit’s nose and the reflections in his eyes, caused either … Read More

The word “commission” has a few different meanings in regards to fine art*. A commissioned painting is one where an artist is hired by someone to paint a specific subject of that person’s choosing. I’ve done many commissions over the years, and they present some interesting twists, as opposed to creating a painting for myself, based on my own ideas and photos. As often happens with a commission, painting “Jordan Fishing with Grandpa Tim” has stretched me as an artist … Read More

This dog portrait is unlike my usual “head-shot.” My friend Jenny messaged me with a photo, sadly saying her daughter-in-law Lindsey’s dog Bree had just died at age 15. She asked if I could do a painting from the photo, as a surprise for Lindsey. I was grateful for the opportunity and eager to tackle the interesting pose. Unfortunately, the backlighting which helped to capture a dramatic pose simultaneously knocked out the details in the shadows. The photo was small … Read More

  For an excitable little dog, he’s been very patient. Watson joined our family in January 2015 and I’ve finally finished his portrait, which I started months ago… painting is my moonlighting job, so life often gets in the way! We adopted Watson from the local shelter where he had been surrendered by his owners just before Christmas. He was estimated to be about 11 months old. We figured we better not change his name, since he seemed to know … Read More

My watercolor of “Rodrigues-Avero-Sanchez House,” a historic building in the Old City of St. Augustine, Florida, was one of the first landmarks I ever painted. It was interesting to depict the five flags which represent phases in the city’s 450+ years of European settlement, as well as showing the local coquina-stone masonry first floor construction, reflecting one of the city’s Spanish periods, and second story of wood and clapboards, reflecting the English period of rule. “Morning Has Broken” “Bayfront St. … Read More

One reason why many people are attracted to certain artwork, especially a realistic painting, is because it evokes pleasant memories. An artist friend once told me that he paints dead people – my immediate mental image of him over an open casket didn’t sit quite right! He went on to explain that after a death the survivors would provide him with photos of their loved one for my friend to paint a portrait. My friend has a great talent for … Read More

My painting theme this month is “sweet” and here are four of my paintings, with a variety of subjects, which I think fit this category. Of course, February is always sweet for me, since Valentine’s Day is the day I married my forever sweetheart! “Decadence” features a super sweet display of yummy chocolates. This painting was a real departure from my usual subject matter. I purposely aimed at creating a strong and unusual image, since my intention was to enter … Read More