Commissions and Goals for the Summer!

I'm not sure where time has gone this month, but one thing's for certain: I have never spent more time in my studio! Yesterday was especially long: the work day started at 8:00 and continued till nearly 10:00 at night! However, this is not a complaint. Time is flying because I'm busy with commission work, and I couldn't be more grateful, and excited, to be working on these projects. One of my latest commissions is finished and now in the hands of a very happy client, another is almost done and will be shown to the client in person next week, and another is currently in the works, with a new canvas ready to be started on. My clients really took advantage of this time of year, with the beautiful Texas wildflowers, the lovely temperatures, and even certain holidays (like Mother's Day). Spring really is one of the best possible times to commission a portrait!

Here is the finished commission, called "Three Brothers," 20x24, oil on linen (artist friends, please message me personally if you have questions about this painting):

I will post pictures of my other commissions soon...

Meanwhile, I hope to suppliment my commission work with some creative stuff on the side, just for me. :-) In the works is a huge (my biggest painting yet) canvas, 48" x 40", of my twin sister and I as "muses" of art and music. It sounds a little strange, I guess, but Emily and I have something really special as twins, and so I think perhaps it's time I take advantage of that in a way that uniquely expresses our talents and our connection.

My other upcoming project will be to start writing a book on Photoshop techniques for traditional painters. This will be a must-have for artists who want to learn how to improve their reference photos and create compositions for paintings using this invaluable tool. Artists, please feel free to email me with questions about this book - or suggestions for things you'd like to see featured! What kinds of things would you like to learn how to do? I'm hoping this book will be completely understandable for beginners to the software, but also helpful for those of you who already use it. This is an open invitation for feedback, friends! The book will be my summer project and I'm very excited to start sharing some of my knowledge with fellow artists. Let me know what's on your mind!

Commissions and Goals for the Summer!