Another commission finished! It's my largest painting to date as the diptych measures 14' x 5'. I can't tell you how much satisfaction I get crossing a commission off of my "projects" list! I probably make commissions a lot more work than most but I think it's important to make sure my client and I are on exactly the same page before I start painting their abstract painting.

If you think about it, how likely is it that anyone in this scenario could possibly have the same abstract painting in mind? My client, the interior designer has one idea. Their client probably has another. And I might be thinking of something else! So how can I insure that every abstract painting is a success?

It's easy. I paint sample paintings. (And yes, that's sAmple, not sImple paintings.) Once I feel that I have a very clear direction from my client (which includes photos, fabric samples and lots of questions from me!) I usually paint 5 - 10 small sample paintings on canvas paper. These ideas are then sent to the client so they can choose in advance the painting they would like me to paint. 

Once they have made their selection the final stage of creating the painting is a wonderful process. There is no fear, no anticipation and no worry that the client won't like the painting. And so far this method has worked every time.

Actually the canvases fit in my studio. But I didn't. You should have seen me crawling under the tables to get to the other side. Ugh.

I've spent the last few weeks working on this very large commission. The commission came from an interior designer and was a diptych painting with each canvas finished size measuring 6' x 5'. It's been a difficult commission to paint because I could barely fit and paint them inside my studio!

I had two canvases stretched one foot larger (all the way around) than the finished size. After I painted them I took the canvases off of the stretcher bars as they will be shipped overseas to the client. It was an incredible experience but it took a lot of paint and a lot more time than I expected! I encourage you to not shy away from painting large. I will post the photo of the painting as soon as the client sees it!

In case you are wondering where I get my large custom sized canvases they were made at a company called Artist Brand Canvas. Nick is the owner and he is a great guy. He came over last week and mentioned they ship all over the US. They have great wholesale prices for artists!

I am so damn lucky. I just spent the last three and a half days teaching an awesome oil painting palette knife workshop! I am blessed to be able to spend time with amazing artists at the beach! We have laughed and had so much fun! How can this possibly be considered work?

The personalities and jokes have kept us laughing 24/7 and the painting time has been very focused but so much fun! This painting was my demo from yesterday. I just love painting umbrellas. They are so fun to paint with a palette knife!

This morning we went to the antique flea market. Only Ventura has a mid-week flea market. I love it! I found two more antique glass jars for my sea glass. Looks like I can continue hunting for sea glass. Ha!

Only five more days until I am in Waco! Magnolia B&B here we come!

Somehow today didn't seem like just an ordinary day. It started with a beautiful walk on the beach (with lots of seaglass!) and then I started Day one of my palette knife workshop at 9:00,. We painted two paintings (which took all day). Then I ran upstairs and cooked a nice dinner for the group. The menu consisted of salmon with an avocado lime salsa, barbecued flank steak with soy-maple sauce, lemon risotto and a great salad.

I then spent two hours doing the final proof of my Marketing Boot Camp binder. And now I am doing the last task of the day ... my blog post.

I guess it was just an ordinary day. Did I mention I can barely keep my eyes open? Gotta go. Night might,