Sunday, April 19, 2009

The finished commission


After reviewing my notes from the client, I realized I'd left off one of the elements she mentioned: a red - traditional barn building. To balance the composition, I added a bit of red to each side.

I was unhappy with the trees in the foreground which I originally painted as they were, complete with the angled lower trunks. It appeared they had all started growing on a tilt and then straightened out. It was disconcerting in the painting, however, and I took advantage of my artistic license to straighten up the offending subjects.

The very heavy - and still sharp saw blade was delivered Friday along with a similarly painted cross-cut saw and a farm sign for their driveway.














My next commissioned work is a landscape to be painted on the retaining wall below. Due to wet and still too cold weather, I've had to postpone starting this job for several weeks. I'm eager to see it finished; the purpose of which is to camouflage it into the natural setting. Black bears, tree trucks and large rock outcroppings will be included in the mural.

The house is built into a steep slope above a river used for tubing and kayaking. The challenge for me is access - as the staging area is soft earth with only three or four feet of space for platforms and ladders.

I'll try to post my progress - and problems - as I go.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Finally!! a new commission...


I've never been much for painting saw blades which seems to be a sort of folk-art fad, but here goes. This sawmill blade is about 30 inches in diameter - and still sharp! I actually cut the upholstery on the sofa being careless.

This is not quite finished, but it's the client's home and a few of their prizewinning Boer goats. I have to work on the trees a bit more and one of the goats seems off-color. It's amazing how much easier it is to find flaws or problems once the photos are posted to the computer.