Day 39 - New Project

This weekend, during Alpine's ArtWalk, a gentleman came by the studio looking for a landscape painting of the Big Bend National Park. I have only one. He and his wife (via phone and email) decided they wanted to buy the piece. Yippee!!!!
What I didn't expect was that he would also want to commission a portrait! Double Yippee!! And he would be available for some sketching and photos. Yippee again! All of this was Friday and Saturday.
So today, he came back through Alpine and we spent a couple of hours discussing the commission, the delivery of the landscape painting, taking some more photos and working on a sketch. He is now returning to Dallas and we will see them in December.

Some notes; this is perfect timing, especially with the mentoring relationship building. Jennifer has been discussing the photo shoots and using multiple photos for the portrait. We've gone through some of my photos, discussing light, composition, expression and eye direction. We've also talked about portrait sizing: some standards for a head and shoulders is 16 x 20 and 20 x 24. These sizes allow for more space around the head and in the background.
I enjoyed taking a the time today with the sketch. Tho it was only about an hour or so, it allowed me to get to know the client a bit more, finding out what is important to him and a little bit of his background. These help with chosing the expression and lighting. The process of doing the sketch has also helped with getting an idea of some of the proportions and characteristics.
Now, I will finish up some of my other projects, order the stretcher bars for 16x20, work with some of the photos I've taken and do some sketches from them. In December, I will get to photograph the client in his chosen clothing, as well as take some reference pictures of his home/ranch that might be used for the background. Phew...an exciting weekend!