Recently I was delighted to be approached by a customer for a commission. It was going to be a wedding anniversary gift to his wife and they had commissioned a painting in the past so I was honoured that they wanted to add to the collection.
The client wanted one or two hedgehogs in some oak leaves and acorns. To begin any commission I start with preparing a few ideas and sketches. Here are the ones I drew up for this painting.
With all my commission work I also like to send progress shots so the customer can feel involved in the process and watch as their painting comes to life.
The oak leaves took quite a lot of patience and detail but I was really happy with how they turned out. I left the foreground till last as I didn't want to overwork it and I hoped to keep some of the looseness of my style to contrast the detail of the leaves and hedgehog. I broke from my usual method of working and used wet on wet painting techniques.
My final details involved the finer fur on my hoggies face and of course the splats!
I was really pleased with the final painting but more importantly so was my client, he sent me a lovely response. Part of the reason I love my job is the way my paintings can make people happy. Commissions are also a fantastic opportunity for me to explore new ideas and the challenge of painting new subject matter. They're a great way for people to get a custom painting that is a perfect size for their wall space and also what they envisage in their minds but can't find in galleries.
"It’s arrived! Safe and fantastic! Really brilliant. My wife is over the moon with it - thank you so much. We have been looking at it for ages- the blends of colours, the details. It’s perfect! It’s our anniversary tomorrow (29 years) but we are away tonight so have opened it a day early. We are really pleased thank you so much" - Paul
If you are interested in a commission or just want to find out more, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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