art – Page 22 – The Consulting Artist

A New Kind of Commission

Most of my painting is driven by me, by what I want to paint. Usually when I am commissioned to paint for someone, it’s as a result of them having seen my work and wanting something similar.

Recently I was commissioned by a third party, to paint a sketch for someone’s birthday. We exchanged a few messages about a possible design, before I was asked ‘Could you paint a turtle?’ I’d no idea, having never done so before, so I offered to give it a go.

The answer appears to be, ‘yes I can’. My client and the eventual recipient are both really happy with this work, as am I. It’s not a subject I would have chosen, and I am really pleased that on this occasion, I was asked to try something new and different. It was a useful reminder to be open to the possibilities. For those of you who may be interested, this is a sketch in acrylic paint on rough 300 gsm paper, laid on top of a simple watercolour wash.

Winter Ice

I am continuing to adapt the elemental art idea. I recently blogged about Autumn Fire, and this new collection, titled Winter Ice – is a variation on that theme. I painted these images overlaying various shades of acrylic paint, finished with silver leaf.

Winter Ice : I and II are sold. Winter Ice : III was left as a piece of free art in Reykjavik.

Departure

I heard some very sad news this week. Tim Kitchin, a friend and colleague is no longer with us. I first met Tim back in 2008 when I still inhabited corporate life, and we both had strong interests in sustainability from a business perspective. We stayed in touch and I was the beneficiary of his smart, critical thinking, and his humour, on many occasions. I was very excited when he joined the Ethos partnership of which I too am a part, back in March 2016. This gave us the opportunity to work closer together. That’s over now, and I miss him.

This week’s free art drop is a work made to acknowledge how I am currently feeling about this loss. A couple of people who know Tim and who have also seen the art, say the colours remind them of his warmth. That works for me.

Part of my purpose in the free art project has always been about learning to let go. This particular art drop will be the hardest one I’ve had to let go of so far.