Working on My Biggest Commission (So Far)

This year I've been lucky enough to work on few commissions but definitely the most challenging one was a big piece for a friend's new home.

To begin with, working on commission is completely different from working for yourself where I can make whatever I you want to make without any input or influence from others.

Making a work of art for yourself is a solo act; producing a work of art on commission for someone else is a partnership between you and that person.

I will always remember when I  had to paint on the balcony (back in Italy), or when I first moved to Dublin and didn't have any space and had to get creative in the carpety living room.

So now I feel like the luckiest artist ever to have my studio-kingdom, it's tiny but perfect. 

I never realised how small my studio was until I brought in the 3 canvases 65x100cm (26x40in) for this commission.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f877d7_d4fffcf1d085480987149455a11a7036_mv2.jpg

Few months back, with my favourite builder (AKA husband), we built a table for the studio and it worked magics as it was long enough to support the 3 canvases, while giving me space to move around the studio.

I used clamps to keep the canvases together, pretty handy trick!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f877d7_ef69ba8b221d45c8825eefa41b95d164_mv2.jpg

The request was to use loads of red/orange and golden details.

I painted the first 2/3 of the piece in 5 hours in one painting session. Sometimes the process can't be interrupted and you have to just go with it. And that was the easy part. 

Painting a big piece is physically challenging, it requires your whole body to paint along with your hand and your brain.

Colours were blending perfectly on the canvas, my sponges were taking me exactly where I wanted to go and I was listening to the perfect playlist.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f877d7_1bfba2810e214f2eb804a2a0aba80582_mv2_d_1500_1500_s_2.jpg
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f877d7_60f6c9c9d1a04e3cbfebfeff3c093efb_mv2_d_2448_2448_s_4_2.jpg

Day 2: It never goes as planned. 

Once I poured the paint - acrylic dries up pretty fast - there was a very short amount of time I had to work it across the canvas.

It’s a balance of leading the paint in the right direction and letting it do what it’s going to do.

I was too close to the canvas and I couldn't see the whole piece, I felt like I needed time to let the whole piece adjust to me, and vice-versa, I needed to adjust to the canvas.

I let it sit in the studio for one week, I knew where I wanted to go, I just needed time.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f877d7_9a4d4814e8db42289a0ef5f06f837497_mv2_d_2962_1665_s_2.jpg

Day 3: And then it happened!Blue is always my final destination, and when I started painting blue, the whole piece started to make sense.A labour of love, and "I'll Carry You Out Through the Night" was ready.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f877d7_342574d32ba64582bc8f1958157790be_mv2_d_1750_1313_s_2.jpg

 

You can watch the time-lapse video here below

And click here to enquire about custom work.💙 

 

 

 

book a session with me now

I do 1-on-1 coaching

sign up for more studio insights