Normally, I do NOT like commissions and I do not take commissions. The reason being that I prefer to paint for myself, not for others. If I'm happy with a painting, it usually turns out that someone else likes it, too. But it's hard to paint something for someone else and try to suit them. Well, the bottom line is that I decided I was being narrow-minded and limiting my sales so I accepted 5 or 6 jobs that I might not have taken a year or two ago.
It worked out that I loved doing every one of them because everyone wanted me to do things MY way! So they were commissions, yes, but they were commissions in my style with my slant on them. They each challenged me to do something I might never have tackled otherwise but that turned out to be a good thing. The subject matter in each case was not of my choice but the way I choose to implement it, was. With that in mind, the things I've just completed and sales that came my way were:
1. Two large paintings for music educator Duane Weston, using his ties as inspiration. Posters were made from the paintings.
2. A painting called "Birds of the Ponding Basin" for the Fresno Audubon Society with 19 birds done separately and then assembled into a large painting that will soon be a plaque at Clovis and Alluvial's Cottonwood Park.
3. Three small owl paintings done in the same style as the water birds for a collector who collects owls! She saw me working on the pond birds and asked if I could do owls.
4.A painting for the retiring superintendent of Sanger Unified based on the district motto--"Every Day, Every Child, Whatever it Takes!"--and given as a gift to him from one of the Sanger sites.
5. Two large painted and appliqued fabric banners for the Selma Methodist Church.
6. Two or three reframing projects that honed my mat-cutting skills, including cutting a triptych mat.
7. A set of a dozen "Occasionally" cards prompted by people asking for cards for very specific events.
8. The purchase of and older painting called "Cowboy Cliches" by just the right cowboy that it had apparently been waiting for all along.
The list could go on, but I'll stop there. My eyes are open to the fact that several of these were "connected" to each other (directly or indirectly) by my willingness to try something I might not have tried before and wouldn't have tried if they hadn't presented me with an idea that THEY were passionate about and that I became passionate about.
So, the bottom line is, I've changed my mind about "Commissions"!
Thank you all for your interest in my work and belief in my abilities. :) It is greatly appreciated!
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