I do a lot of commissions, perhaps a third to a quarter of my work. I like commissions because they inspire me to tackle new subject matter. It can be challenging to come up with an idea that pleases me as well as the person wanting a commissioned work.
Last summer I got a call from Mike, who wanted me to make a surprise folk art commission as a gift for his wife Laura, who was a fan of my work. Mike thought a picture of Laura's grandfather, importer of Alessi Olive oil, would be special to Laura. Together we narrowed down the idea a bit more, and talked about timing for when I could complete the art work. Mike sent me my standard sketch fee and a number of photos to help me get inspired to do a sketch. I narrowed down the photos Mike sent from ten to the three that caught my fancy the most. Notice that the quality of the photographs is low, but it was enough to get me going with an idea.
Here's grandfather Alessi, I really liked this shot, it gave me a feeling for the character of the man as he was about to get into his Model T.
At my request, Mike did some further research and got me a better picture of a model T.
I thought these olive oil bottles had a nice old fashioned shape that would go with the model t theme.
Claudia, thanks for your comment. Your blog has a lot of nice information and encouragement for people wanting to try to do artwork. Nice! Mary
Posted by: Folk Art Mary | January 07, 2010 at 04:51 AM
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Claudia
http://paintingdrawing.net
Posted by: Claudia | January 07, 2010 at 01:16 AM