The Beginning of a Commission

I was approached by a friends husband who wanted to commission a painting for his wife and he wanted these elements in the painting: her dog Copper, yarn (she's the community knitting guru), grapes (she also runs a great cafe) and roses. I told him I am a mixed media mostly abstract painter so I couldn't promise that any of the above would be recognizable, and he had seen my website, so I said I'd do it on condition that the painting should be returned no questions asked if she did not like it.

So when I start a commission I listen very carefully for the elements that a client wants, her colors and the wall colors and then I let it percolate and when I get this great idea, I start out and the painting turns out fantastic! NOT!!!!!! As you can see here from my initial start.

A friend of mine, Bernie, who has been doing commissions since he was very young says thats the first thing you rid your brain of is all of the specifics that the client wants to see in the painting. Then you find a way to express the subject, the way you feel about that subject in your style of painting.

Obviously, I needed to start over again.