Little commission

What have I got to paint…..

It’s a tiny matchbox sized canvas. I painted a pink rabbit for a lady’s grand-daughter while I was at our annual exhibition today. Since I managed that I then was commissioned to paint a dinosaur for her grand-son. Help! I managed the rabbit, after all they are quite like cats with a longer, deeper snout. But there was no WiFi in the hall so I had to say I would do this one at home. I will have to Google what they look like, in the meantime I sketched it out to remind me to do it!

Got to paint more

I’ve been asked to paint some of my small paintings, bees, birds, cats, maybe dogs, flowers. But I might add a few small mechanical paintings too.

How can I know my audience? Mainly by what has sold before, but also what is liked on social media. I cannot paint exactly what someone wants without getting a description of a commission from them, but I can try to get an inkling of what is interesting. For instance I have been painting more abstract images, but I feel they are more fine art subjects. If someone buys a tiny painting is that more of a craft piece. I need to know because if I carry on I need to earn a crust or two, even if it’s only a crumb sized one! We will see.

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Working on a drawing

Portrait of a friends nephew. I’ve just started it using a dark grey pencil crayon. It needs some more work and I will try and include some of the background to make it more cohesive. I need to work on the shading. If I squint my eyes I can work out the tonal range. Clearly the forehead needs darkening on the left hand side. I’ve only got today and tomorrow to finish it!

Finished at last

This took a long, long time. I can still paint but shaking isn’t helping. If I put things on the easle it’s a bit better, but sometimes I have to hold the painting to add details, then if I try and paint my left arm and hand shakes and the canvas wobbles. So I have to redo things. I wish I wasn’t getting old. Painting means such a lot to me. Then typing, the phone wobbles side to side as I stab at the keyboard. Thank goodness for predictive text! Anyway I hope this little dogs owner loves this painting, she’s been really patient. X

WIP, is he finished?

On the easel today. I think this is almost done, one of the legs and the side of the body feels clunky. It’s basically that the leg on the right side might need bringing inwards a bit, so it doesn’t line up with the bodies edge. I’m also not sure about the grass. But I’ve broken my fast of painting. I have been blocked for ages. Basically because I’ve been scared about how well I would do after having developed a shake on my left side. I think concentrating helps reguce the tremor. I will get this finished. X

World tree

A tree I drew for someone a few years ago that she wanted for her business cards. I wish this wasn’t so blurred but I only got a chance to take a quick photo of the finished printed card and I can’t find the computer file it was saved on.

It was a commission for her and she was really pleased with the result. Its funny how you find images that suddenly spark memories. The rainbow type colouration in the background was hard to get right. I think I used a digital spray can to get the softness…

Dog work in progress.

He’s almost done, looks like a Teddy bear so it needs some more attention.

I am struggling with the fur, trying to soften it, it looks too spiky at the moment. I need to get the ears right and his belly sorted out. The photo I’m working from has him in a dogs rain cover or coat, but that is covering areas I need to paint. Three hours of work and I feel like I’m only shuffling forwards. But I’ll get there.

Cat paintings

A couple of cat paintings I did for a friend in 2018. The first was a work in progress. I don’t have a photo of the completed painting. I love painting cats, and any other animals. I’ve got a dog painting in progress then I’ve got to paint some purple crabs, that might be interesting! By the way the pink is a chair cover, not part of the paintings.

Possible sculpture

We went for a walk last week and saw a fox carved into an old tree stump. Unfortunately the photo I took didn’t turn out (memory problem on my phone). I spoke to the person whose garden it was in and he told us the artist who had done it.

I decided to enquire about a carving, I have an idea of either an owl, a fox, or even a green man being carved into it. I’ve passed on my details and the size of the tree. Maybe in a few weeks I’ll be posting photos of a sculpture.