Commission Completed!

On the way home to Oregon from Scottsdale, Matt and I stopped near San Francisco to deliver 4 special commissions to Lisa and Mark. Remember my "Dream Commission" from last month? Well...above is the end result! Lisa and Mark needed 4 custom paintings created to fit inside their four niches--two 87 1/2" x 27 1/2" niches in the entry by the front door, and two 56 1/2" x 33 1/2" niches upstairs in their Master bedroom. Big, dramatic paintings with lots of color and texture was what they were looking for...and that happens to be my specialty! I had been visualizing these paintings hanging in those niches for weeks...and I couldn't wait to see the finished result! We first brought in the two aspen pieces. After what seemed like an eternity, Matt finally got all the plastic wrapping off, and we placed them inside the niches...and WOW! They looked fantastic! I was so thrilled.

This was the first time Lisa and Mark had actually seen my work in person and the extreme thickness of the texture! The aspen trunks literally protrude from the canvas three-dimensionally. Mark couldn't help tugging on one of the black aspen nobs! They said the trees looked and felt so real--like they were there in that scene looking up at "Maroon Bells". I do feel that these two pieces are among the strongest work I've painted. Just the sheer height of them, makes them extremely interesting. At over 7' tall, I had to stand on a ladder just to paint the top. They were the perfect pieces for that grand entry, and it gave the room all the drama it craved. In one of the trees, I carved Lisa and Mark's initials with a heart and an arrow. It actually took them a few minutes to find it (kinda like finding Waldo); I like to keep those details very subtle.

Next, we went upstairs to the Master Bedroom. I think Lisa and Mark were a little more anxious about the two painting upstairs. They hadn't even seen a picture of the completed pieces, so this really was a surprise! All they knew was that one would be a poppy field, and the other a lavender. This is what they had commissioned. We could barely breathe as Matt carefully unwrapped them. And...voila! Lisa first saw the poppy field unveiled, and loved how the poppies stuck out of the canvas--as if you could pick them! And then she saw the lavender, and she got really excited. She loves purple! She exclaimed that she couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and look up at all that purple! The two pieces are so vibrant together. I actually created them as a "diptych". The rolling hills and sky are a continuation into the other. The lavender field contains splashes of red poppies, and the poppy field has sprigs of lavender sprinkled throughout. They are stunning side by side! And, I wouldn't have ever thought of doing a "diptych" like that, had Lisa and Mark not commissioned it that way. It was fabulous!

I also added a couple of special touches that will make the paintings even more meaningful to Lisa and Mark. In the distant hills in the poppy field painting, very subtly, I painted their actual home. It fit perfectly with the "Tuscan" motif, I just had to tint the roof a little 'orange'. In the lavender painting, Lisa and Mark asked that I paint a miniature version of them walking hand in hand. It was fun adding those little details (now you know why I was still painting even after the show ended!). I titled the paintings "Love" and "Happiness" to symbolize the new life that Lisa and Mark will have together (they recently got engaged!). They were excellent clients to work with, and I'm thrilled they picked me to help them solve the 'problem with the empty niches!'