Watercolor with a Quick Turnaround

A realtor in Dallas who has ordered paintings from me before called to see if she could get a quick turnaround on an oil painting--one day! Unfortunately, I can't guarantee an oil painting will dry in one day; usually it takes several days. So I offered to paint a watercolor for her instead, and matted and framed it for the same price an oil would cost.

8" x 10" matted to 11" x 14"

Sometimes Commissioned Pieces are Fun

I created this commission for T. Holmes-- who requested cows, a pasture, their Bar H gate and her husband's tractor, which creates an eclectic farm scene. I am so glad she didn't want chickens too.

Fall Painting from Photos

18 x 24 oil on canvas

This is the Schrade homestead in New York. They like their chicken coop and the pictures they gave me showed bare trees. I was asked to paint the scene as if it were fall and to add some shrubs because the home was under construction when they took their pictures.

Another Holly Jolly House Painting

This is a traditional brick style ranch home that looks like it might have been built in the late seventies or early eighties. Nothing special about it, although it is beautiful. The photo I was given lacked contrast and the plants were fading. The leaves had lost their leaves. I magically returned the leaves to the trees and brightened up the shrubs and grass, giving the painting a late summer appearance.

After I showed her the proof she mentioned that she might not want that little pine tree in front of the house, so I'll probably be doing an edit.

11" x 14" oil on canvas

REVISED

Removed the tree. It took about three minutes. 

Even a Modern Home Makes a Great Subject for a Painting

Most of the commissioned house paintings I do are of older homes, ones that exhibit a lot of "character". While it's true that older homes are sometimes more picturesque and have a lot of interesting angles, a newer home can be a beautiful subject for a painting as well. The lighting is important and if the reference pictures are taken in nice light the entire effect can be spell-binding. The client took their photos of this house close to sunset and the violets and reds in the sky bathes the mostly white brick in an appealing peach colored tone. Their landscaping is wonderful too and adds to the overall beauty of this home. The reference pictures showed a house with a dead lawn and one thing a painter can do is alter reality. The lush green lawn is what we want to see when there isn't a drought, so I painted it in.

11" x 14"

oil on canvas