Giant Commission DETAIL - with process shots of detail area

Roses in Hermann Park (DETAIL)

This is an approximately 24" x 18" section of 

the 10 foot painting seen below.

Roses in Hermann Park, 5 foot x 10 foot commission

Detail is of bottom left corner.

If you have not been following my recent blog posts, I painted this 10 foot painting for Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. It's the first of three, and all will hang in the lobby of the hospital's new North Tower. One frustrating thing for me is showing this work in such a drastically reduced, postage stamp size. While the internet is great, and without it I couldn't share at all, the painting is meant to be experienced in person. I wish, I wish...

So... these detail shots will bring you closer in, where you can see a little more evidence of my brushwork and color nuances that just can't be captured in the photo of the whole painting. The camera has to be set up too far away to get those details.

Below are process shots of the flowers on lower left side... I thought it might be interesting to document the roses as they emerged. (You will also notice that the figures changed at the very end!) 

Working so much larger requires a more deliberate and controlled approach than when working small, simply because of the scale. I wanted this area to have loose, expressive marks to indicate the flowers. Without getting too detailed, I treated them as a mass, with simple lights and darks. I stained the flower spots pink as place holders, to remember where I wanted to put them.

I built up the color with simple shapes, and loose lights and darks.

Developing a passage that would "read" and still feel expressive is tricky. In a small painting, a "pop of light" can be indicated by a single stroke. Not so, at this scale. That same pop of light requires many more marks to say the same thing.

An artist friend and I were discussing this challenge (sometimes frustration?) of adapting our mark-making for working in such a large format. We concluded that it's best to simply accept it as a completely different animal in that way. AND... these big paintings? They really do want to be seen up close and personal! ;)

Roses in Hermann Park "Study" - the design for my first huge commission piece

Roses in Hermann Park (Study for large commission)

8 inches x 16 inches, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2018

And just for fun, you can compare the small study above,

 to the large finished piece below...

Roses In Hermann Park (Finished Commission)

5 feet x 10 feet, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2018

Yesterday, one of my blog readers asked, "Did you do small to-scale paintings for the client first?" Such a great question!

The answer is yes. I painted an accurately scaled, proportionally correct, mini version; and got approval on it before starting the commission. There were also many conversations. The plan was to come up with a Houston scene that would be calm and inviting, but also distinctive of the city. So I visited. I drove around. I took pictures. I painted on location. I got suggestions and made suggestions. When we finally settled on the IDEA, I gathered my resources and fleshed it out.

You can see the 8" x 16" study in the first image of this blog. That is about 50 times smaller than the final piece, but it got the idea across. Since the client already knew my work and style, the study mostly represented what subject matter would be included. My main concern was design, composition and color. 

I stuck pretty close to my original design, and the feeling of it, when I did the big piece. Once approved, that is just the smart thing to do! Throughout the entire painting process, I kept that study nearby. And... I checked and rechecked it constantly!

My next post will include some "up-close" process shots with some of the details INSIDE the painting. Please check back!

Adjusting My Painting World for a Giant Commission - the story of three 10-foot paintings!

Roses in Hermann Park, 56 x 120, oil, L. Daniel © 2018

Commission for Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas

First of three 10-foot paintings to hang in new North Tower

Dear Blog-Friends, This is a story I wrote for Outdoor Painter last week. It's longer than most of my posts, but I share it in it's entirety because you to know what I have been up to since January. More to come on the process and, of course, on subsequent pieces! And thank you for your ongoing support!

The Project

Every now and then, an opportunity comes along that both excites and terrifies. I am in the middle of one of those right now… a commission project for three 10-foot paintings. When finished, these pieces will all hang together in the lobby of Houston Methodist Hospital's new North Tower expansion. It's an honor to be chosen, AND it also comes with high expectations. It’s a challenge that is taking me out of my comfort zone and growing me in new directions. That can be fun and scary!

Prepping my giant blank canvas with two extra coats of gesso.

The Logistics

At first, even the logistics of painting so large seemed insurmountable. A ten-foot canvas is not available at the local art store, is too wide to be supported by my easel, and won’t even fit in my personal studio. Knowing I would need some help, I began to research and ask around. In the end, Davis Gallery (my Austin gallerist and local frame-shop) is custom-building the canvases and delivering them to my front door. Easel guru, David Sorg, suggested two matching easels placed side by side to manage that size, and my double-Sorg arrangement works like a charm. Finally, my sweet husband helped me convert our living room/dining room into a giant studio space for the duration of the project (he also gets ongoing credit for being my greatest encourager)!

My dark neutral block-in on the double-Sorg easel set up.

The Execution

Once set up, I had to figure out how to execute on such a large scale. I typically paint in the Alla Prima method, often en plein air, and I love the freshness of working wet into wet. Even though sheer size would inhibit that process some, my instincts told me to stick with what I know. So I stocked up on paint, got larger brushes, and just got going. Everything took much more time than expected, but I stayed true to my process. I blocked-in the composition with a dark neutral, and began working dark to light. I stood back a lot, focused on large shapes, and slowly covered the canvas. I learned to be much more patient with developing a good foundation, and to overcome the drying time issues. Yes, I adapted, but my basic process served me well.

The easels move up and down in tandem so I didn’t have to stoop to paint the bottom. However, I did need a step stool for painting the top. 

The Finish Line

The first painting of the commission is now delivered and a being framed for installation, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment!! But I am not done… I have two more 10 foot canvases to go. By the time I am finished with all three, I will have been at it over nine months - January to September. (And the quoting process started 9 months before that!) When the paintings are all installed in that new hospital lobby, I will make my pilgrimage to Houston. That's when I’ll feel truly done, when I visit my big, 10-foot paintings altogether, “in situ"!