My First Commissions

This week for the first time I did a painting on request. Actually I did two commissioned paintings this week.

I have gotten requests in the past to paint a particular subject or scene but I have always declined. I didn't have the confidence in myself as an artist to capture the "vision." There was added pressure for the Madonna because she is such an icon and I wanted to do her justice. I pushed myself harder than ever with these paintings because I really wanted them to be something my two new patrons would like. I am so glad I finally braved these endeavors. Firstly, it was so fulfilling because the painting became an interactive project. I didn't paint these paintings, we painted them. Secondly, it pushed me to really hone in on quality and technique. So here they are, Madonna And Child and In Flight

How do commissions work?

Hello all!

Since I have been getting so many requests lately for commissioned art work I decided to sit down and devise a system for pricing etc.

This is how it works.......

I receive a request for a particular subject, painting etc. If it is something I feel I can do I will let you know and get started. I will email you pictures of the painting - if you can not view the pictures in your email I can also post them on my blog. If you are interested you can pay me through paypal, check or money order. Checks and MOs will take a little longer to ship. If you are not interested the painting will either go up for auction or on Etsy. For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy it is a non auction art selling site. I will give you a reasonable time period to decide.

Pricing
When requesting a commissioned piece you may want to consider the size as that affects the price. I currently charge 0.65 per square inch. However since I am charging you directly and don't have to pay an eBay fee I discount the piece by 4%. Pricing is as follows for some of the standard sizes:

11 x 14 - $96
12 x 12 - $90
14 x 18 - $157
16 x 20 - $200
18 x 24 - $270

These prices include the 4% discount but do not include shipping.

Now if the piece goes to auction you very well may be able to get it for much less especially during these slow summer months. I am willing to sell some of my pieces for less on ebay because it helps to build more commissioned work and more collectors for the busier holiday season.

I hope this helps and look forward to making some great art for all of you!

Renaissance Folk Art

Hello all - these are a few of the paintings up on ebay this week. All the poses and colors turned out to be very Italian. I wasn't sure what category to list them under so John helped me. We decided to list them under "other" and call them Renaissance Folk Art. I hope you enjoy them and I hope you all are having a great summer!

Carrie

Saint Catherine

There's a funny thing about this painting. I was sitting out on my deck waiting for my next painting to come to me. I got an urge to look at my photos from when I was in Italy last September specifically the photo of the statue of St. Catherine located near St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. I found my photo and fell in love with the imagery all over again. I decided to look up St. Catherine before I started painting and it turns out she was canonized and recognized on the day of her death - April 29th which turns out was the same day I thought of her and started the painting. If you believe in odd coincidences then I guess that is what you would call it - I personally believe in synchronicity.

This lovely lady just sold to an Etsy buyer. She has a great website called www.shamanstar.com and you might want to check it out.

I am really glad she has found a good home. One of the things I really love about this painting is that her hair is shown and flowing. That is a little daring for a Saint!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Carrie

Gardenias

This is another painting up on ebay this week. This is 11 x 14 Canvas. There is a huge bush in the backyard of the house we rent and just this last week it bloomed big, white, fragrant flowers. Gardenias everywhere and they are so pretty and smell so good. I am not sure how long they will last so I was inspired to paint them into my Open Window Series.

Van Grow

This painting was done on 9 x 12 hand crafted wooden cradled canvas. I buy these from Mountain Laurel Folk Art . I have struggled with the wood for some time now. The wood is so much thirstier than canvas which is what I have a lot more experience with.

But now I have finally gotten the colors and textures where I want them. I layered lots of paint which really gives the colors a lot of depth. I used a matte gel medium which I just love. It's made by Stephen Quiller and the products are great. This particular medium can also be used as a photo transfer medium. You can paint it on a photocopied image and then wash off the paper when it dries and have a film of the image. I haven't had a lot of success with that yet but when I get the hang of it I will put it on the blog.

I wanted the image to be about growth and flowers reaching to the sun and the sun reaching to the flowers. My fiancee said it reminded him of Van Gogh and that I should name it Van Grow. He thinks he's so funny :)

See you all soon.

Blessings,

Carrie

Open Windows

These are my listings for this week up on ebay tonight.

I did a theme this week - I am calling it the Open Window Series.

Except for one painting they all have a window frame incorporated somewhere within the painting.

I aimed for five paintings this week - mainly to pay the bills to be quite honest - and I did it! Whew. Wine tonight - yeahhh!

Hope you all enjoy these and have a great week.

Warmly,
Carrie