March 17th 2025
The Art of Perfection
“The Commission That Pushed Me”
Commissioned artwork is a joy for me. I love to make my clients happy by painting them something that is near and dear to their hearts. The majority of commissions I have done are landscape commission art pieces, but I have also done commissioned dog paintings, as well abstract commissioned art. This genre of art comes with many different challenges. This is an explanation of one of the most challenging commissions I completed.
Usually my clients have on hand, reference photos of the image they want me to paint. Although, they are often photographs or videos that are less than ideal to copy from. A good painting requires the right lighting, as well as a good composition. I have to say, most people do not have the perfect photo for me so that I can easily refer to as I am creating their one of a kind commissioned art piece
Challenge one
This requires me to search required photos online or amongst the thousands of photographs I have taken myself. Up to this date the most challenging commission I have ever done is a commissioned landscape titled “Tuscany Fields”. I was extremely excited to do this commission for 2 reasons. Firstly, it was for my dear brother in law’s 75th birthday. He and my sister in law travel to Italy yearly after their fall harvest is completed. Bob being a farmer, the landscape Susan wanted painted, depicts the rolling hilled fields in the Tuscany countryside they love to travel through. The second reason being - I ALSO love Italy! I am enthralled by its architecture, landscape, shopping and of course the FOOD!!!!!
The video that was presented to me for a reference was less than ideal. (See below) Of course you can’t just take a 15 minute drive over to Tuscany (from Alberta) to get a more desirable lighted photo! The video was taken on their drive to their final destination and it was a cloudy dreary day. Luckily, I am pretty good at ‘making compositions up in my mind’ Honestly, I am not sure where this skill came from. My guess is, many years of experience! (How many? A lot-and that’s all I will say about that!) My sister in law suggested that I add an Italian Villa with driveway lined by Lombardi Poplar trees, which are very common in Italy. Contemplating about the video screenshots and with my imagination working overtime, this is the composition that came up with.
screenshots from the video of my client driving through the hills of Tuscany.
I then present the sketch to the client.
If it is accepted, I start the painting on their canvas size requirement. Susan initially wanted a 16”x 20” canvas size, but I suggested the composition was better on the 15” x 30”. When I have almost completed the art piece, I usually show a photo to the client, in case any small changes need to be made.
