...struggling.....

a toadfish... commonly known as  'toadie' to all keen snorkellers...

I've been struggling with a gallery commission.
For me as an artist it can be difficult to personalise a commission artwork without understanding the personalities of the children I'm painting - and I like to know a little about the family requesting the commission.....who is it for...what's important ...where will it hang ...and dozens of other questions!
I've actually painted this commission three times!

nothing remains of version 1 except a very bad thumbnail....
but suffice to say the children looked like acrobats flying thru space!

version 2... I thought it was a better version of the supplied photos...or was it?

version 2.5....they look like squashed caterpillars....
...and  too much brown....and what to do with all that space?
and where's the joy?

 I was worried...this painting is of  real children, it's something that will hang in the client's personal space, it's hopefully going to be with them for generations. So difficult when I'm not the one communicating with the person commissioning the painting.....I was struggling....big time......
my insecure, perfectionist-self surfaced...and  I was told ..."it's ok.... they already have one of your paintings....she trusts you"....and then an epiphany...just paint the joy of snorkelling...paint what it feels like to be floating, buoyant, bobbing,  in the clear water of a rockpool....paint the excitement and wonder of a child's view beneath the surface....that confident sense of possession when exploring a familiar space....in other words put into the painting the essence of childhood.

And I'm very pleased with the result. Very happy!
It is a happy painting of a favourite place...and there's a sense of 'completeness ' and a contented peacefulness in the children's faces, and there's enough detail for visitors and small children to ask questions, and to spot a favourite sea creature. I think it's a painting that will become a part of the families connections, and one that will contribute to conversations and memories .

I hope the new owner will be happy too !

                                                         Jo   :)

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