Current Commission: Boston Brownstone

I was contacted by someone through Facebook who had seen my work and my website, and wanted me to paint a scene of their brownstone in Boston's South End. I rarely work on commission, but I'm already in love with Boston architecture and the brownstones of the South End, so it didn't take much to sell me on the idea. However, taking commissions is difficult, for several reasons:

Firstly, the source image. I don't work from life, because I'm too slow and don't have the time to spend outdoors. (yet!) I use my own photos as source images, and I've taken them in a moment of inspiration, when the lighting is just right, the composition is just right, and the "players," or people and cars in the scene, are perfectly positioned. In a commission, this has to be created. In this case I stalked the scene for the right lighting, mornings and evenings, especially in October when the light was at the right angle, and in a beautiful golden hue.

A second reason commissions can be tough, is that clients can be difficult to deal with. Thankfully, this client is experienced not only in business, but also in the art world. They understand that artists need time and space to create, and that has helped me overcome the obstacles.

Then, there's timing. A client wants their painting as soon as they can have it. Negotiating a reasonable timeframe for you to finish the work, and for it to dry and be varnished, and for that to dry, is tricky. Some artists paint with thick layers of paint that require several months to dry. I'm fortunate in that I've developed a technique where the layers are incredibly thin, and dry practically overnight. Thankfully, I've never had a problem with my paintings cracking over time.

The last issue I'll discuss regarding commissions is the image itself. Does the client want to choose the image, or see the image while it's in progress? Do they want control over the content or style? Will they be happy with the final result? I'm about three quarters of the way through this one, and the client wanted to see where it stood. After seeing the last image, they reported that they were "pleasantly impressed," and "wouldn't change a thing," so I think they like it!