The last portrait is out and a new one is in.

Pencil drawing

On the day I mailed the last commission, I started another.  At 20″X14″, this is a large one.  I rarely do something this big.  When I point out to a potential client that the framed painting would be about 24″X18″, some reconsider.  A piece of art that big really needs its space. However, in this case, it will be hung over a king sized bed so it should be fine.

This a gift for a parent selling the  long time family home and it has an unusual addition.  The barn was added as a special memory even though it is not located exactly where it is placed.  We went through several renditions of the barn’s size and exact location before it finally ended up there, looking like that.  It was hard not to make it a second focal point and I will have to leave it a little bit softer so it doesn’t take too much attention away from the house.  After a day of inking, I am only about 20% or done.  Slow going.  There is a lot of landscaping in there and I am combining some photos, so I have to be careful with the perspective.

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Commission finished

First layer of color

Finished

I finished this smaller commission and am pretty happy with it.  As an end unit of an apartment or condo building there were few special features to highlight and I had to guard against everything just looking cut off.  There was another door just to the left of the one shown, so I couldn’t even move it over to center it a bit more.

I was forced to maximize what I had. The shrubs and flowers helped, along with the concrete frog, but with the doorway off to the side, I had to make sure the colors were especially appealing. The green canopies sure helped.    I don’t know what I would have done without them to liven up the exterior.

Still, it is someone’s treasured home and I hope I did justice to it.

New commission

Penciled up

Inked in

I was just fussing around in the studio last month, trying to decide on some new marketing strategies for my artwork, when I got a new portrait commission.  It is a simple brick, end apartment/condo in Philadelphia that someone must have wonderful memories of.

At only 8×10, it didn’t take long to pencil up and ink in.  One detail that may not show up too clearly is that there is a big concrete frog in front of the flower pot.  It’s kind of hard to see it in the pictures, but it does liven up what is mostly a lava rock landscape with just a little flower bed next to the left shrub and railing.

One Last Pond Painting

Koi pond

I decided to paint one last acrylic of the Boise Train Depot pond.  There were quite a few large koi swimming in the pond and it seemed a shame to ignore their presence.  So here are a few more lily pads and one large koi.

Somehow, I forgot to take progress photos of this one, so you get to see the final right away.

Pretty much finished

Boise train depot

After a few extra days of fiddling around, I think this one is pretty much finished.  I like the way this one has turned out. The building is delineated but not overpowering.   The white tower and slight orange of the roof reflect subtly in the pond surface.  The lily pads break up pond water but allow the reflections to come through.  I framed the whole thing with the green of the trees and a little bit of shore.  All in all, I think it worked out well as a minor foray in an architectural in acrylic.

The Boise depot

Depot pencil drawing

First layers of paint

After the success of the previous pond paintings, I thought the Boise Depot itself should finally have a feature.  I was not happy with the first achitecturals I did a couple of years ago, but I thought now it was time to try again, but with a slightly different emphasis.

As a compromise to my feelings of inadequacy in painting buildings with acrylics, I wanted to make the building recognizable, but not the main focus. One reference photo seemed to fit the bill.  While the main tower grabs the eye first, its reflection in the pond lets your eye move around to the water and surrounding vegetation.  I was not so intimidated with the building in the background and  I was feeling good about how the previous pond pictures had gone, so this seemed to be a good next step.  I was happy with how things gad progressed to this intermediate step.

Reed painting finished

Reeds in the lily pond

The reed painting is finally finished.  I must have sat and fiddled with it half a dozen times after I thought I might be done.  And I’m still not super happy with with it.  I kept playing with the shore line behind the reeds more than anything else.  I still think there is not enough definition, but I may just let it sit for a month and look at it later.

Others have said they like it, even thought I am not overly thrilled, so it must have some qualities.  (Mom said she’d take it today LOL)