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.
4 Comments
I love the bridge with the pink/magenta flowers on the left! Sooooo glorious! Looks great and I love the panorama canvas size!! Yum!!
Melissa, I do love this bridge. Thank you for agreeing with me!
Agreed! These two projects are wonderfully captured once again. Outside your tree paintings that I am personally most fond of, the bridge and the view from an orange grove are such that one can appreciate the splendor. Thank you!
Aw shucks, Jess, thank you. That is high praise coming from my tree-hugging friend!
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