…is part of the work that I do and presents it’s own set of challenges, the biggest of those being time.
The weirdest thing about painting commissions is that if I don’t have a set deadline for the commissioned work to be finished by it’s much more difficult to complete within a reasonable time frame. It’s also more difficult to get started.
Without a deadline a painting that should take me 3 weeks can take me more than a year.
It’s not necessarily that I take more time actually painting it, but I take more time thinking about what to do to start it - what materials to use? what colours? composition?…what process to start with?
After I’ve made some choices that set the stage for the work and I actually start painting it, I’ll spend more time than necessary between painting sessions looking at it and thinking about what to do next…as I’m doing that I‘ll procrastinate and start working on other things, clean the studio…go shopping…do some cooking…play around with new painting ideas…make a YouTube video…etc…there’s no hurry so there’s plenty of time to think about the commission…and think…and…think…
When there is a deadline, what I do to get things done on time is I set up my paints in the evenings, then I get up very early the following morning and do an hour before breakfast. I set the timer and work the full hour without interruption while I drink my morning pot of plunger coffee. The whole process is very enjoyable and when the hour is up, I feel a sense of accomplishment that affords me some extra time to explore ideas, later in the morning, that aren’t so urgent…which might even be another commission that doesn’t have a deadline.
commissioned paintings - see here
Honey Inside, 30x30cm