These two boy kitties were captured by camera from the back, pawing and staring at an Olympic skater on TV. The brother of the cats' owner ordered the commission, and we discussed how i could show the cats' faces. I figured that i could get the expression on the cats' faces if i showed the image through a mirror -- all make-believe of course. Our view of the cats is from 'inside' the TV!
Winston's portrait was commissioned by a former colleague and loving mom who wanted to give it to her son and daughter in law as a wedding gift. Great Mom, eh? Little Winston is a cutie. I did the work using photos and videos all as reference to capture his personality.
Young Blue was added to Becky Bull's family this past year, and in no time she grew almost as large as Kuro, who still considers himself king of the pack. Blue is very sweet tempered and still very much a pup, and she's a rascal who till get two or three toys together and carry them around in her mouth. This painting is a bit like an American Gothic of Dogdom.
"Kuro Crosses his Legs" - this is a standard pose for Becky Bull's large black lab-mix dog. I noticed this in a number of photos that she sent me, and it was obvious that he had to have crossed legs in a painting about him. He's a longtime family member with a black and pink tongue like a Chow. And he is very sweet and content.
"My favorite red ball: Blue" Recently-arrived Blue is a sweetie with seductive eyes and an innocence that she plays up whenever she can. And like so many youngsters she has a favorite toy -- a red ball - which, when she grabs it, she throws and runs after it herself. ONce she's got it, she chews and moves it around in her mouth just to make sure she touches every surface with her formidable tongue.
"A magical day at the beach". These are the two children of a lovely talented professional dancer and dance teacher named Sian, whom I met in Physical Therapy! The black and white photo had her kids in these poses but they were too far apart and the color was not very strong since it'd been taken midday. My work on this very special commission was to study all of the photos Sian sent me, and then design the painting so that the kids were much closer together, touching elbows, to show their closeness and the intimacy of this moment. I used my own color palette to charge the scene with excitement and life. Not long after I got to meet her kids and her husband, and see the painting on display in their home. What excitement it is to see folks enjoying the commission they had me create.
"Kobe and Frankie" You never know where a commission might come from. The gentleman who ordered this large pop-art style commission of his two dogs was a customer in the same hair salon where I hung art for many years. He was moving his family out-of-state and wanted to get this done before they left. He already had purchased one of my collages, and was a fan of my work. His instruction was to put the dogs together and make them look like they enjoyed each others' company! I did studies of the dogs as well. the two white dogs lent themselves to bright pops of color.
"Shelby" My painting mentor Christopher Schink and his wife Janet own a Labradoodle named Shelby, whom they adore. Shelby is full of mischief and so much fun to spend time with. As Toph was having an important birthday, i wanted to do a collage of Shelby, since Toph has plenty of paintings in his home but collage, not so much. He and Janet always tell me how much it looks like Shelby! High praise!
"Kobe" - a study for "Kobe and Frankie."
"Krissy" A heartbroken fellow with whom I've had a lot of contact via the MD office where he works, asked me if i would consider doing a commission of his recently-departed Krissy, a Chihuahua mix. The photos were quick ones but from a number of them i was able to understand Krissy's sweet personality. George has recently asked me to do another for one of his other dogs.
"Frankie" - a study for "Kobe and Frankie"
"Warhol My Pet" cockatiels
Commissions
I delight at the idea of doing a commissioned work, because it helps me to get to know someone better. That makes me the beneficiary of the work that’s done! I have a constant curiosity about people and their lives, and love being part of the process to add color and concept to their own lives.
See my blog post, The Art of the Commission, for a more in-depth exploration of commissioning work.
