It's such an honor when someone trusts me to put their memory on canvas.
"Do you ever do commissions?"
Yes, I do!
"I'd love to have a painting of the little church I remember from my childhood."
Do you have a photograph of it?
"I don't think so. It was torn down in the early 1960s. I'll see what I can find."
"My daughter had this plate showing the little white church. Would that work?"
I think I can work with that.
"I do still have a few broken pieces of the original stained glass. Would that help?"
Oh, my goodness, yes!
Let me ask you some questions before I begin.
- What shape would be best? rectangle? square?
- What size? 8"x 8"? 10"x 10"? 9"x 12" ?
- What was the church made of? wood? brick?
- What color was the roof?
- Were the windows stained glass?
- Were the doors wooden?
- Are those steps in the front?
- Is that a sidewalk? a road? a corner?
- What season would you like? summer? fall? winter?
- What kind of weather would you like? blue sky? evening?
- What colors do you use in decorating the other parts of your home?
Her granddaddy was the pastor.
He stood on those front steps with her in the crook of his arm as he shook hands after services.
She remembers running through the grass between the sidewalks and almost stepping on a snake beside that big tree. (FYI, I doubt it shows in the little photo, but just for fun, I did paint a snake in the grass beside the tree.)
Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]
Well done, Helen!! The likeness is spot on. LOVE that you added the snake in the grass as a little surprise! I didn't see that in the photo.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. It was a pleasure. The snake would just look like a little brown squiggle that might be part of the grass if you didn't know it. When she picked it up, she laughed and asked, "Did you put the snake in?" never expecting that I'd say I sure did!
DeleteThanks for taking us through the conversation with her, the questions you needed to ask, and how you used that to create the painting. You did well; I'm sure she will enjoy the painting, and I hope she discovers that little surprise you added!
ReplyDeleteShe posted it on Facebook, and it's been fun to watch with former members join in the comments bringing up memories of that little church.
DeleteI really enjoyed reading about your process. I admit I was surprised and delighted at the detail of questions you asked me. Not only does it add to the painting, but it is a pleasurable thing to remember those details! In one of our numerous boxes of old photos, we must have a photo of our old Methodist church. It was a white steepled building where I first went to church in Bixby. When I find it, I'm sending it to you.
ReplyDeleteOh! I hope you find it, and I'll look forward to seeing it!
Deletehow special! I am always reluctant to do commissions out of fear they won't live up to expectations. This one is so thoughtful and will bring about good memories for the owner. Nice job, love the snake and inspiration of glass colors, all of it
ReplyDeleteLeeAnna
It was an all-round pleasure to work on it. I do think that the whole point was to recreate a memory.
DeleteI do understand your reluctance to do commissions. For some reason, I like to take on the challenge and have a purpose for the product.