Artists are often asked to do specific artwork for a special place, event or of a particular subject matter known in the biz as a commission. It is quite different than someone seeing a painting on a gallery wall and taking it home.
After many years of not having any commissions I've recently completed two.
One of the commissions was by a family to do a portrait of their farm and ranch. They had seen examples of my paintings and were attracted to the way I painted and my imagery.
I went out to their farm and ranch several times. Visiting with them, I was able to determine certain views that they liked such as their house and outbuildings from across their alfalfa field.
They also have a magnificent view of Mount Blanca.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Mount Blanca it is a towering mountain massif of over 14,000 feet and a prominent landmark in this region of the southern Colorado. It could easily be said that one would consciously have to make the effort not to see Mount Blanca while in this area.
I've seen many houses with their directional axes not on the traditional compass points but shifted in such a way that this magnificent mountain is displayed dramatically from many a picture window.
The family also wanted to have a moonrise in view. That definitely helped me to define the time of the day for the piece as well as the amber color scheme of sunsets.
I presented the painting to them upon completion and was thrilled that they thought it was great.
After many years of not having any commissions I've recently completed two.
One of the commissions was by a family to do a portrait of their farm and ranch. They had seen examples of my paintings and were attracted to the way I painted and my imagery.
I went out to their farm and ranch several times. Visiting with them, I was able to determine certain views that they liked such as their house and outbuildings from across their alfalfa field.
They also have a magnificent view of Mount Blanca.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Mount Blanca it is a towering mountain massif of over 14,000 feet and a prominent landmark in this region of the southern Colorado. It could easily be said that one would consciously have to make the effort not to see Mount Blanca while in this area.
I've seen many houses with their directional axes not on the traditional compass points but shifted in such a way that this magnificent mountain is displayed dramatically from many a picture window.
The family also wanted to have a moonrise in view. That definitely helped me to define the time of the day for the piece as well as the amber color scheme of sunsets.
I presented the painting to them upon completion and was thrilled that they thought it was great.
The project was very rewarding for me because I am always trying to connect to the natural world and convey that appreciation to the viewer. In this case the viewers had a very real and established love for this place they call home. We all had a great connection to Mt Blanca and to the beautiful presence of a rising full moon.
Hopefully I can do more of these paintings of collaboration and mutual appreciation for the amazing place where we live.
No comments:
Post a Comment