With this post I thought I'd delve a little into some of my vulnerabilities around my artwork. Particularly around a new experience I've had lately - that of Commissioned Work.
Notice the Capital Letters.
Yeah - it's a little weighty for me.
When my show at Oakshire closed at the end of November, I had a three people ask me to do some work that was similar to a particular piece they'd seen at the show.
In my enthusiasm and in the spirit of good customer and art service, I said 'Sure!'. (translation - 'TAKE'!)
But it turned out to be a little stressful, actually.
All of a sudden I wasn't sure what folks were expecting - because if they wanted it exactly like the one that was on the wall before? Well, I could guarantee that this wouldn't be able to happen. And sometimes it felt a little stifling from a creative standpoint - how was I supposed to re-conjure the inspiration I'd had months ago on a summer day when it was now December 19th?
One person wanted the painting on the right in this picture ... but in blue and green colors instead.
Which I think came out rather well.
Another person wanted a very large version of these three (originally 6" x 12") in 18" x 36"!. For his wife's 50th birthday no less. (A very cool husband might I add!)
I was thrilled to do them - and kind of nervous. They were such different scales and the coloring would definitely be different. But I had a beer with the client ahead of time (at Oakshire of course) and we agreed that they didn't have to be exact replicas. The color and the movement was what he was looking for.
And so I plinked and plunked away on them and they became these:
And so there they were. And I sold them right out of my living room wrapped in brown craft paper. I'm still amazed and so very grateful.
Last but not least, I've been asked to replicate this one - sort of.
But she gave me artist's Carte Blanche. "Big, blue, but you're the artist..."
So I'm plugging away on it - I have a couple of choices for her, actually both of which I'm very happy with and the direction that they're going in.
And really, as I've discovered, that's what this is about. It's truly not about me. If the client doesn't like a custom piece - well, we can talk about it and try again.
Bottom line, it's about them loving the piece however it turns out - and I just have to trust the process and these wonderful people who want to BUY my work. I'm happy to do something over if it's not working for them. And with that all the fear and anxiety about whether they'll like it or not goes out the window. I'll do my best for them - and am willing to try again and again if it's not to their liking.
So there's a SHINE moment right there, people. I'm working on a few others too that maybe I'll share later - but I feel like this is a great start to implementing my word of the year.
Recent Comments