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:

step-1.jpg

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.

step-2.jpg

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.

step-3.jpg

 

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.

 

img_3715.jpg

 

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?”

img_3719.jpg

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.)img_1572.jpgimg_1570.jpgimg_1560.jpgimg_1554.jpgimg_1553.jpgimg_0834.jpgimg_0838.jpgimg_0840.jpgimg_0851.jpgimg_1336.jpgimg_1337.jpg img_1570.jpgimg_1346.jpgThere 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:

img_3305.jpgimg_3306.jpg

img_1705.jpg 

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)

 

lupine.jpg

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:

commissions.jpg

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):

fiesta-beginnings.jpg

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

 

Nine One One, part two

yokuts.jpg

Here is a Yokuts shelter. From the diagram that the author provided, I had to ask if these were little Christmas trees made of thatch! She gave me an explanation, so hopefully the drawing will clear up any sort of confusion as to the nature of these little structures.  The book will be titled The Sierra Before History: Ancient Landscapes, Early Peoples. It is by Louise Jackson and will be out this spring. The book still might be available through the publisher,  Mountain Press http://mountain-press.com/index.php.

Art Nine One One

Ever notice that the initials of Nine One One are NOO? That is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the words, “I know this is short notice but. . .” Saying “NOO!” would be bad for business. People come to me because I have something they need, and it would cut down on many business opportunities and mess up my hard-won reputation for being a non-flakey artist if I just automatically said “NOO” to these requests. So, I listen to the request, ask for the exact time the piece is required, think about my existing obligations and commitments, ask for specific expectations about the job, and say yes or no based on reality, rather than first instinct. An Art Emergency came to me last week – 2 illustrations for a book on the people of the Sierra. The author was notified by the publisher that the deadline for going to press was moved, and she couldn’t find decent photos of Miwok and Yokuts shelters. She had blurry photos and a diagram, and neither was adequate. She asked me to create drawings – “I know you are busy and this is short notice, but. .  .” Since she is a very dear friend who has helped me in more ways than I can ever count, I truly wanted to help her. Besides, have I mentioned how much I love to draw? So, I did the drawings, and this is the first time I have ever confidently made up something without adequate photos and LIKED the results!

tipis-1.jpg

These are Miwok shelters made of bark.

Art Emergencies

You’ve learned about odd art jobs such as quilt patches and umbrellas (and NO, I DON’T WANT TO PAINT ON AN OLD SAW!) Now, I bring you Art Emergencies. This is where someone comes to you and says “I know this is short notice but. . .” Generally speaking, 30% of the work that comes to me is an emergency. Granted, there are no true emergencies outside of birth and death, and “poor planning on your part does not create an emergency on mine”. However, poor planning on the part of a customer often creates nice jobs for me. And, to be fair, sometimes Art Emergencies are not a result of poor planning but the result of  a surprise as in “Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts just announced his retirement and we need a nice personalized gift for him right away!” Here is one from a couple of years ago:

quick.jpg

If you are wondering about it, it was for a retiring Visalia City Council member and all the elements of this collage mean something to him. And no, he isn’t Joe Bag-of-Doughnuts; he is more akin to Joe Box-of-Oranges!