I'm very excited to be working on a new commission! This is to be a 32" x 27" watercolor painting based on my recent painting, "Wait Until I Grow Up!".
The original painting is a 20" x 16" so the commissioned painting is going to be significantly larger.
Very often when someone sees one of my paintings, they ask if I can do a similar painting in a larger size. I have a 52" or 132 cm roll of Arches French made all cotton 356 gsm watercolor paper so in watercolor, I can do any size that is 52" by as large as the customer would like.
I also have a 72" or 183 cm roll of all cotton canvas for oil commissions. If I were to get a commission for a painting with a dimension larger than 72", I can source a bigger canvas roll or I can paint a diptych or triptych. So many options for custom paintings!
The collector has asked me to paint the painting in a way that is similar to the original but to also include some meaningful elements. They are a portrait of her Great, Great Grandmother, a family heirloom ceramic bowl with birds on it, a faint rainbow in the upper right corner window, a stack of her favorite books on the table, a girly string of pearls around the giraffe's neck and to incorporate the wallpaper design onto 1 or 2 of the sofa pillows. She provided reference photos for all of these things.
It's fun to recreate this painting and make these special and meaningful additions. I've kept the collector updated by sending progress photos of the painting as I'm working on it.
Something I've noticed in my experience of working on commissions is that my collectors really enjoy learning about the painting process. Following along enables them to gain a new appreciation of the painting process. I began with the pencil drawing for approval followed by the ink drawing and then the painting process can begin!
The way that I work in watercolor is a bit unique, I've developed this style myself over the course of many paintings. I paint in layers with small brushes instead of big washes of paint. I like the layered look of the artwork, it sort of brings it to life! It is a blend of realism and impressionism.
I layer one color over another until I achieve what I think is the right color balance and layer paint from light to dark to make the elements in the painting look 3-Dimensional.
As an example, I started painting the giraffe on the sofa. I started with a layer of light yellowish green on the sofa, then layered a darker green over that layer and then added an even darker green to indicate some shadows between the giraffe, pillows and the green sofa. I flirted a bit between teal greens and yellow greens. I also purposely leave little flecks of white paper showing throughout the artwork. This way of working makes the colors glow and sparkle in the most beautiful way! The artwork looks joyful and light.
I will continue to work my way around the whole painting building up layers everywhere. After most of the paper is covered with the first layers of paint, I'll add more and more layers to every part of the painting until I think it's finished.
I like to work on the whole painting at once. If I were to paint the giraffe for instance and completely finish it and then paint a pillow and completely finish it, the painting would end up looking like it's pieced together. Working on the whole painting at once helps it to come out looking balanced and like it's one big artwork instead of small parts pieced together within one artwork.....I hope that makes sense!
Not to sound corny, but I also put a lot of love into my artwork, I put my feelings of joy and happiness and work those into the colors...I think it comes through somehow....that is the magic of painting!
When I work on commissions, I like to work closely with my collectors and send lots of emails and photos and it's helpful when I get comments. My number one goal is for the collector to have a painting that they love!
Here are some of the progress photos of the artwork. As this is a work in progress so my next blog will be to show further steps in the process.
If you are interested in a commission, email me at kristenpaints@gmail.com with your ideas, I'd love to hear from you!
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Cheers,
Kristen
