“Commission” is fancy talk for custom art.
A friend requested an 8×10″ oil painting from a photo she took in Yosemite.
I haven’t been to Yosemite very often and don’t really know it but somehow I knew to ask if this was Yosemite Falls, and doesn’t it have 2 parts? The oak tree in the foreground was obstructing the shapes of the cliffs, and I also needed to know if the barely visible cabin in the lower right mattered.
After a bit of back-and-forth, I went to the World Wide Web, found many photos that showed the dual nature of these famous falls, and proceeded to make up my own version.
Since when have I become such a rogue painter??
Here are the steps (without showing you the photo from the WWW because I do not have permission.) I began the painting in the studio (the reasons are boring), where oil painting does not belong, but I was very very careful. I worked from my friend’s photo on the laptop. You can see that I chose to keep and enhance the little structure, because I am into cabins (hence “Cabin Art”).
The next painting session was in the painting workshop, where it is not a tragedy to drop and spill things. The natural light is better there than in the artificial light of the studio, so it was a much better place to finish the painting.
The last photo was taken with the phone instead of the camera. Neither one is adequate, but will have to suffice until the painting is dry and can be scanned.