A long-time friend and former gallerist contacted me to commission a large-scale painting installation for her home in Las Vegas in 2021.
I traveled to her home to see the space and to discuss what she might like. The paintings would hang high up on a wall that measured nearly 25 by 25 feet. We discussed options and finally settled on a large Dutch landscape with rows of multi-colored tulips, leading back to the horizon line which was to include buildings and windmills. My client wanted a deeply blue sky with fluffy clouds and bright rows of flowers in colors including blue, pink, yellow, orange and red.
We decided that the final piece would consist of four canvas panels, each four feet wide and six feet tall, placed side by side. I put together a proposal, which we both signed. With a 25% down payment, I purchased four canvases, brushes, paints and other supplies.
COMPOSITION
Normally, I work from sources that I photograph myself. In this case, I assembled a composite of multiple images and used my own imagination. I painted two small facsimiles in oil paint that were proportional to the finished paintings in order to let my client see the overall effect of the project and give her options. With her approval, I began work on the final panels.
I traveled to her home to see the space and to discuss what she might like. The paintings would hang high up on a wall that measured nearly 25 by 25 feet. We discussed options and finally settled on a large Dutch landscape with rows of multi-colored tulips, leading back to the horizon line which was to include buildings and windmills. My client wanted a deeply blue sky with fluffy clouds and bright rows of flowers in colors including blue, pink, yellow, orange and red.
We decided that the final piece would consist of four canvas panels, each four feet wide and six feet tall, placed side by side. I put together a proposal, which we both signed. With a 25% down payment, I purchased four canvases, brushes, paints and other supplies.
COMPOSITION
Normally, I work from sources that I photograph myself. In this case, I assembled a composite of multiple images and used my own imagination. I painted two small facsimiles in oil paint that were proportional to the finished paintings in order to let my client see the overall effect of the project and give her options. With her approval, I began work on the final panels.
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I used an ochre colored acrylic paint to cover the four canvases. This would provide a warm background on which to compose the charcoal drawing for the project.
I placed the horizon twenty four inches from the top of the canvases. Using a long strip of wood, I aligned the rows of tulips on a diagonal, leading to the largest windmill left of center, which would serve as the focal point. This was quite a challenge, since the canvases side by side represented a space of sixteen feet. I sketched in the buildings and trees so that each canvas included at least one building and a variety of trees. I then brought the canvases to my workshop, painting the sky, and buildings all together with the canvases side by side. |
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For the rows of tulips I knew the flowers closest to the bottom of the canvases needed to be largest (eight to nine inches), and that for the sake of perspective they needed to recede in size as they approached the buildings on the horizon line.
COLLABORATION Executing a commission is very different from creating an original painting - at all stages, it is very important that the client and the artist work together. The artist needs to clearly understand the wishes of the client so that the completed work is a success for both. |
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I invited the client to come see the work in progress a total of five times over the course of the project. At various times, she requested that the sky be a deeper blue and the clouds a somewhat different configuration. Another time, she requested a small tractor and a truck be added as details, which you can see in the video of the completed work.
FINE-TUNING
It became clear to me as I began to paint the tulips, that I needed to be more specific with the shapes of the individual flowers. This would involve repainting the tulips I had painted to this point in time.
FINE-TUNING
It became clear to me as I began to paint the tulips, that I needed to be more specific with the shapes of the individual flowers. This would involve repainting the tulips I had painted to this point in time.
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Therefore, about six months into the project, I bought multiple bouquets of tulips and sketched a total of ninety small drawings of individual tulips, which I used to vary the flowers within the rows. I wanted the paintings to show the movement of the flowers, and for each flower to have a personality of its own.
I estimate that I painted more than 3,000 tulips for this project, and completing it took me hundreds of hours and a year and a half of painting.
Because the scene was continuous, the edges needed to meld one into the next. Therefore, I painted the two inch side edges of each canvas so that no blank canvas would show between.
Needless to say, this was a massive undertaking for me. It represented the equivalent of twelve regular sized paintings (24” x 48”), but in this case of only one subject. Placed side by side, the landscape merged to make one scene that measured six feet by sixteen feet: the largest painting project I have ever undertaken.
I estimate that I painted more than 3,000 tulips for this project, and completing it took me hundreds of hours and a year and a half of painting.
Because the scene was continuous, the edges needed to meld one into the next. Therefore, I painted the two inch side edges of each canvas so that no blank canvas would show between.
Needless to say, this was a massive undertaking for me. It represented the equivalent of twelve regular sized paintings (24” x 48”), but in this case of only one subject. Placed side by side, the landscape merged to make one scene that measured six feet by sixteen feet: the largest painting project I have ever undertaken.
I learned many useful things from the Grand Tulip Project, which I can apply to my painting craft. One of the joys of painting is that there is always so much to learn!