Daily Painting, The Devil is in the Details

"Mrs. Pearson's House"
12X16
Charcoal Pencil Prelim on Board

I know you can barely see this. Partly it's because of the photo, but honestly it is very light on the board, too. This is the beginning of a new home portrait.

It's my aim to please when I take on a commission. I really try hard to give the customer what they want. So I find myself in a bind. This one is a home portrait...for a very dear lady who finds herself down-sizing and knows she will miss the home in which she raised her family. I painted her beach house last year which turned out quite good. It's a painting I am very proud of that was 16X20 and full of teeny tiny details even at that size. This time, because she is "down-sizing" she requested I do this one even smaller. YIKES! I have been agonizing over this for a couple of months and couldn't even convince myself to give it a go until this week. I am trying to tell myself it won't be THAT hard to paint window panes and railings with a one hair brush and a magnifying glass. I am hoping my eyes will survive this.

Another thing I've noticed as I take on commissions, people think that squishing great big things with lots of details into little tiny panels makes them cheaper to do and to buy. The thinking is that is can't be more money to buy if it is 5X7 than if it is 16X20. Well, I guess that might work if the painting has not much in it. Not fair when you have to spend even more time and precision than what goes into a Rolex watch. I am here to say....NO to that in the future. Think about it. Remember this when you are asking an artist to paint Buckingham Palace on the head of a pin. It may take less paint, but it takes a heck of a lot more work, skill, and time.