Daily Painting, "Mrs. Pearson's House"

"Mrs. Pearson's House"
12X16
Acrylic on Board
Commission
Click on picture to view a larger version

At last....I finished painting this one this morning. Who wouldn't like to live here? Now I sound like a real estate agent. Mr. and Mrs. Pearson raised their children in this beautiful house. I think it was built in the 1950's, the days when construction was solid and men knew how to build hardwood oak floors and millwork that had real substance. It has two fireplaces, that lovely bay window, and gorgeous landscaping. I'm sure lots of happy memories are saved from the days they spent here in this house.
I hope she'll enjoy having this painting and her children will enjoy having it years from now.

I'm on to the next painting and thinking again of the up-coming show at the Schiele Museum. Thanks for reading and watching!!! :-)

Daily Painting, "Mrs. Pearson's House" In Progress

"Mrs. Pearson's House" In Progress
12X16
Acrylic on Board
Commission
Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Just starting to work in the sky and the trees above and behind the house. The tedious details of the house itself are finished finally. You'd think you could just slap on those window panes, indicate the curtains with a simple brush stroke and, voila, finito! Not. Each mullion must be noted, the downspouts drawn, shadows and light on each tiny inch in various ways painted deftly. Probably another entire day left to go on this. Acrylics are a double edged sword. The good thing about them is that they dry fast. The bad thing about them is that they dry fast. It's a real trick getting them to move the way you want them to... I could not have accomplished the tiniest details here with oils. I suppose someone else might be able to, but not me.
Stay tuned..

Daily Painting, "Mrs. Pearson's House" In Progress

Detail.....this piece is less than 2 and a 1/4 inch square, just so you know. And even this part is not finished.

"Mrs. Pearson's House"
12X16
Acrylic on Board
Commission








Inch by inch, measuring the Marigolds...as the song goes. Still at it and trying to not even count the hours. Is anybody else out there as crazy as I am? Don't answer that. If you are, you shouldn't admit it. You, too, might be asked to recreate Buckingham Palace on the head of a pin.
More later.....

Daily Painting, "Mrs. Pearson's House" Work In Progress

"Mrs. Pearson's House"
Acrylic on Board
12X16
Commission

O.K. this is after several hours and layers of paint to describe the beginning of the trees on the left. Besides all of the other challenges here, Mrs. Pearson has asked me to recreate the big tree in the front yard on the left. Total fiction. No pictures to help. Just asking God to guide me.... or maybe Joyce Kilmer whose quote, "Only God can make a tree," always stays with me when I am trying to paint trees. Definitely not there yet, but still evolving.

Now about the house and landscape. I have to say that this house is, like the lady who owns it, meticulously cared for. My favorite part of the picture, the day I took the photos, was the line of crepe myrtles along the driveway. The light was spectacular coming through the webs of limbs and through the leaves. Only the top of them still had the reddish color left from the summer blooms. It was as if the crepe myrtles were beckoning one to come into the driveway in such a welcoming way.

More on this commission as I go along..

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.