Not talking audibly to myself anymore, decisions made, work begun on the oil painting commission of Homer’s Nose with the Oak Grove Bridge.
Madame Customer stopped by my studio to retrieve her photos and saw the scary version. She made another change to our plan, and I was eager to try it. Her suggestion was to forget about the green hills below Homer’s Nose and extend the greenery above the bridge up closer to Snozz Rock.
Today’s oil painting for sale:
The commissioned oil painting combining two Tulare County scenes feels like a mini-mural. 18×24″ is HUGE when I am accustomed to 8×10″ or 6×18″.
Often I have pondered why it is that a mural feels sort of easy because of its large size when a large oil painting feels daunting. Is it the number of layers? the level of detail? An oil painting certainly takes longer.
My customer approved of sketch #2.
She is gracious and told me there is no rush. However, I am a bit of a “precrastinator”, a made-up word that is the opposite of “procrastinator”. It is much better to begin, to act as if there is a deadline, to be ready for contingencies, interruption, opportunities, and other emergencies than to just lollygag along, figuring it will get done when I FEEL like it. And losing momentum is a real risk – a customer can change his mind, or it could get too hot to paint. Besides, the sooner I finish a commissioned job, the sooner I get paid.
(There was a sign in a print shop where I used to work that said, “I work for money, not for fun; I want my money when my work is done.” I work for both.)
First, a little fun with Scout. She is sitting on Samson’s shelf. (He doesn’t need it any more. Sigh.)
Now it is time to get to work.
Such a basic beginning. I just draw the general stuff with my paintbrush.
To be sure of the shapes, sizes, proportions, and angles, it is easier to be objective when everything is upside down. The goal is to get a first layer on the canvas, something that I can correct with each successive layer.
That’s enough for the first second third fourth step of this commissioned oil painting. (The first was a conversation, the second was an exchange of photos and a sketch, the third was the second sketch with the approval to begin painting).
This is Chapter Two in the story of figuring out how to design one commissioned oil painting of two different Tulare County landmarks. As a Tulare County artist, I am pleased to have been chosen for the task.
The customer requested a different view of Homer’s Nose, and I have 5 photos from that point of view. This is the one we selected:
She also requested a view of the Oak Grove bridge with more visible rocks (i.e. less water). If you have followed this blog or my art for very long, you know that the Oak Grove bridge is my favorite thing to draw and paint, even when it is a little bit too hard. So, I have plenty of photos to choose from for this very specific request:
I know Spice Bush, but never heard of Mock Orange. Good thing I have friends with great photos who know far more than I do about many things.
And a photo I have of Spice Bush, but will probably take more because it is in bloom right now and is beautiful.
With all these visual aids, I drew this:
What will my customer say in response to this second sketch? More will be revealed in the fullness of time. . . Tune in tomorrow, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.
And here are today’s paintings, both commissioned pieces of Homer’s Nose, painted in 2014, each one 6×6″.
Isn’t “figuring things out” a strange grouping of words? But we all know what that means. . . puzzling over something, trial and error, plan A and plan B, lots of conversation. . .
A long time friend asked me to do an oil painting of two significant Tulare County landmarks in her life. This is not two oil paintings; it is one painting with 2 separate scenes, a true piece of Tulare County art. I am a Tulare County artist, so why not?
I’ve been doing collage type pencil drawings for many years, but have never thought about this for oil paintings. This friend has challenged me before with other unusual ideas, and I’ve learned from her. So, here we go.
This is what she sent me first:
This is what I drew for her, using colored pencils so she could get an idea of how the two subjects would blend together into one painting.
Her response was that she likes the view of Homer’s Nose from another place, likes to see lots of rocks under the bridge, and would like to see some wildflowers, preferably Mock Orange or Spice Bush.
Good thing I know what she is referring to on all these subjects and have 29,000 photos on my laptop that include most of what she is wanting.
To be continued. . . meanwhile, here is today’s painting. It no longer exists, but is the first oil painting I ever did of Homer’s Nose from that other place.
Why tiptoeing? Because it feels slow and careful at this stage, like I am just feeling my way along, trying to be as careful as possible.
First up, Sawtooth, the commissioned oil painting.
Second, rebuild the Kaweah Post Office, also a commissioned oil painting.
Third, plant some grasses. (Oil paint grasses, not fescue or bermuda or dichondra or Kentucky bluegrass or. . .) There was more progress made, but the phone call came that it was time to rescue Piper from the vet, where he got civilized this week. $192. No such thing as a free cat. (Samson cost $132 – he was in better shape to start with.)
I tried to oil paint last Friday but the greenery and wildflowers overcame my sense of duty. So, Trail Guy and I drove up North Fork Drive to the end.
The road was longer, rougher, narrower than I remembered and all very worth the drive.
After we got back home, I painted a little bit more. There is this commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth for a very patient customer, and it would be good to make progress.
Then, I got distracted again and thought that wildflowers would look great on a 6×18″ canvas. Can you see the possibilities here? (Put on your rose-colored glasses with me!)
All those paintings of Sawtooth completed over the past several months, and someone wants a different size?
Yep. No problem. I am an artist, and artists make art. Here are the beginning steps of the commissioned oil painting of Sawtooth:
Wow, it is time-consuming and interruptive to photograph the steps in this much detail. But, this customer has become a friend and likes seeing the progress. I’ve heard from others that seeing the process is interesting, so here we go. . .
Every time an oil painting of the Kaweah Post Office sells, I paint it again.
That’s a lot of oil paintings of the Kaweah Post Office. But wait! There’s more! Come back tomorrow and see the second set of seven.
Someone bought some cards of a poinsettia painting that I did about 8 or 9 years ago. (It looked fine as a 4×6″ image, back when I was first learning to paint. Be polite, okay?)
She liked it so much that she asked me to paint the same picture for her as an 8×10″ oil painting.
Oh boy, another do-over!! This time I get to do a better job because I paint better and because the canvas is larger to accommodate more detail.
There wasn’t one photo that was my guide when I first painted this. I used several, simplifying the image as much as possible. This time I am using several photos again, but not simplifying the flower so much.
This looks a little bit weak in color because the paint is wet and shiny. This is at the end of day #1.
In the next painting session it looks almost finished, but there is more layering, the center detail, edges, and finally. signing. (Then drying, scanning, varnishing, drying yet again). This was painting day #2.
You can see in the next photo that most of the painting looks weird and reflective, because it is wet and shiny. There are 4 petals that haven’t been re-layered. This was painting day #3.
At the end of the painting session, I hung it out in the workshop to begin drying. This one wasn’t in a huge rush to be delivered, so I didn’t want its messy wet self in the house.
Funny how it doesn’t look reflective here. That is because it has indirect light from the window rather than a lamp shining on it. That lamp helps me mix the colors right, but makes for poor photography.
And finally, this is the finished and scanned commissioned oil painting of a poinsettia. Color looks duller than in real life. I hate that. But, the real one is brilliant. Guess you’ll have to take my word for it.
Did you know that navel oranges are harvested in December? If you are from Tulare County where the world’s best (and most) navel oranges are grown, you probably knew that.
My grandfather and dad were both orange growers. I am an orange painter.
A friend/neighbor called to say that her sister-in-law wanted an oil painting of oranges just like the one in her dad’s house. I asked for a photo of the painting so I would know how to make another one. Obviously, these people have impeccable taste in artwork.
After receiving this photo, I looked through my 963 photos of oil paintings, arranged by subject, and although I recently finished Orange #134, this old painting didn’t show up in my inventory.
That’s okay. I have plenty of photos to work from. And if I am going to paint an 8×10 oil of oranges, I might as well do a second painting to have ready for the next orange art emergency.
This is how the orange paintings looked on day one of painting in December. (The 8×10 will probably be mailed while it is still a bit wet.)
At the end of the painting day, I put them in boxes to carry into the house and prop up over the wood stove so they will be ready for the second layer.
(I painted a second and third layer without photographing the process.)
EPILOGUE: Finished and in the mail, right on schedule!