gimme green lotsa green......

So work on the commissioned painting continues and the greens are starting to build now in the leaves around the rhododendron blossoms. I started with yellows and am moving into light greens, and will add deeper greens as I go. The background will be softly out of focus and I may work in some of those wonderful "point of light" circles known as bokeh or circle of confusion... read more here and check out some wonderful image examples here. This work is very peaceful and meditative and calming for me and I am really enjoying working on the painting.

I am also going to be working on getting some good photographic images of my sea glass and some wonderful striped rocks for some watercolors that I am planning to paint.... more on that soon:)

today I brought you flowers

commissioning a work of art

Lots of people have never thought of commissioning an artwork especially for their home or office space, but it is easier than you think and a lot of fun to be involved in the process. If you have a favorite artist, make contact with them and have a conversation about what they need to create a special commission.

This is the time to begin a conversation about compensation as well.... and something important to be on the same page about. A skilled artist will be able to provide ball park pricing in this initial stage, but keep in mind that edits and changes in the scope of the work will mean changes in pricing too. If you have a timeline, let the artist know, because that may play a part in whether or not they are willing to take the commission.

For a painter like me the first thing needed is the nugget of an idea, and you need the artist's agreement to take on the commission (it may surprise you to learn that I have no desire to paint you landing on the moon and making one small step for mankind.......) The next thing I am interested in is reference photos, be it snapshots or something you have cut out of a magazine to show me what it is you are thinking of. My favorite kind of client keeps a visual file with clippings torn from magazines, postcards, paint samples, fabric swatches, and 'stuff' that visually delights them...... that file is a gold mine of information.

If you have your heart set on a huge painting of overblown tulips, I will first check all of my reference image files to see if I have the pictures..... if the shots aren't already there I will try to go somewhere to shoot them. Some artists use references, some don't, and some should:) Always talk about what it is that you want and how you want the artwork to feel - do you want something light and airy, contemplative, serene, energetic, uplifting, happy?..... those are important clues for the artist to get the commission right, and hopefully you have already chosen an artist whose work you love, so some amount of serendipity will be involved as the artist does what they do best.

You may want to offer a home or office visit to show the artist the environment and where the work will go..... long distance clients often provide me with snapshots. Color swatches and paint chips can be helpful, but here is where I tell you that some artists do not like the idea of having to match the painting to your sofa color. While the art should be compatible in style and feel to the look of the room, it should stand on its own when people look at the space, and it will if the artist has done their job.

Most artists will ask for a downpayment before work begins. I always ask for 50% up front for supplies and to be sure that the buyer is committed. This saves a lot of hassle and surprises down the road. A few emails usually go back and forth talking about particulars, and then the work begins! Keep in mind that some artists work on numerous projects at one time, and some artists work faster than others.

At the end of the process you will probably be asked for final payment either before or upon delivery of the piece, and crating and shipping the painting is often an additional fee. Keep in mind that in the current challenging economy shipping prices have recently gone up quite a bit, and my most recent purchase of crating supplies was also more expensive than ever before. Other artist friends of mine have confirmed this across the country, so the cost of doing business is going up for hardworking artists.

Finally you will have a work of art that is original and special to you, and you will know more about its beginnings than anyone, allowing for great story-telling possibilities and a piece that can be handed down in your family. Stay in touch with the artist, get on their mailing and postcard list, and attend their shows and studio openings when you can...... you may even want to pass their name along to another person who might be interested in a commissioned work, and you will help that artist continue to do what they love to do!

a little oopsy

Remember that sky and water study with the silver leafing? I heavily topcoated it with a shiny finish and let it dry for days so that the topcoat could 'cure'. After several days I put in it my flip rack in a sleeve, and when an interested visitor inquired about it in the studio Saturday night, I found that it was STUCK in the sleeve and some of the leafing was threatening to separate from the piece.

Yes, this kind of stuff even happens to me.

I wrestled the piece out of the sleeve and that silver leafing was no longer threatening to separate.... a couple patches of it remained inside the sleeve, but other than some missing leafing, the piece was un-harmed. I fixed the silver leafing yesterday in the studio before moving on to work on that commissioned piece (I am now underpainting the leaves a light yellow to give them a glow around their edges as I paint them green) and now I only have to figure out if I can save the sleeve that the leafing is stuck in.

I sent an image to the interested visitor and made a mental note to create some more of those pieces..... I will just have to find a better storage option for them:):):)

sea glass

I had a chance yesterday to bring together all my sea glass from various spots where it has gathered in recent busy months. Some still in bags from the shore, some from a small jar on my home studio windowsill..... I chose a larger lidded jar with plenty of room for more to put all the glass in, and will give the glass pieces a bath to clean them up as some are still rather sandy. I was surprised to see how much I have collected in the eight years that I have been here... an affirmation of time passing. I found a neat website for sea glass that you might enjoy, check it out here.

double-booking your day

We were up at 5 am yesterday for a quick shower, breakfast, and a drive to the Delaware Bay for some beach-hopping to put horseshoe crabs back in the water as they start their Spring spawning, some beach combing, a picnic, and a quick three hour drive home to shower and change for a big fundraiser at the art center last night.

With the change of the tides lots of horseshoe crabs get stranded until the next tide, and if they are upside down and unable to flip themselves they can die before the return of the water. We spent time gently carrying them to the water by the edges of their 'shells' (their hard exoskeletons) and gently set each of them by the water's edge so that they could return to their element.

Lots of people go to the shore to help them, and it is important to always handle them gently by their shells and not their tails, as sometimes their tails can break... making it impossible for them to flip themselves upright. They cannot bite you or hurt you and are fascinating animals. Please, please never throw them. If you are still squeamish about handling them, just gently flip them right side up on the sand to give them a better chance of surviving til the next high tide. Just Flip Em.

The survival of the horseshoe crabs is vitally linked to the survival of migratory birds like the highly endangered red knots who will be arriving any day now from the southern tip of South America on their annual journey to the arctic to breed. Visitors can view the birds from a distance at Port Mahon and the Dupont Nature Center, but it is important not to disturb their feeding by walking on the beaches so that they can bulk up and continue their tightly timed journey north. Their survival depends on this feeding stop. Learn more about this important interconnected relationship here...... Crash: A Tale of Two Species.

After a three hour drive home and a quick shower and change and we headed to the art center for a big fundraiser last night for VisArts and CASE (The Center for Adoption, Support, and Education). The fundraiser featured entertainment and lots of interesting silent auction packages including a 7 night stay in Maui, a Sanibel Island vacation, a Rooftop event for 250 people, gift baskets, art, and a Wild Watercolor Workshop for six donated by yours truly. (My workshop received several bids and the winner of the package donated $240.00 to the fundraiser.)

It was a great evening for networking and meeting new people, and we were delighted to host CASE for this wonderful joint venture. A very busy and especially wonderful day that combined time for work and fun, and we fell into bed exhausted last night!