The commission I almost turned down

Let me tell you one of my favorite commission stories. It was fall and I was having coffee with a friend, talking about Christmas shopping for the family, when she pulls her phone to show me this picture.

“Pat, do you think you can create a painting of this photo? My mother-in- law is the little girl in this picture. She carries it in her wallet and this memory means a lot to her. We thought of giving her a painting of it.”

For a second I panicked. This photo is the ultimate example of a bad reference photo for painting, so I had to say no. Except, I said yes. The beauty and joy of this moment were so striking. How could I refuse to recreate this memory in an artwork?

It was SO hard. After many weeks of work, I just had to call it done and cross my fingers she would like it.

My friend loved it, and on Christmas Day she texted me this.

She recently sent me another great photo and it really made my day. I have their permission to share it with you.

Images and stories like this one make me glad I sometimes say yes to the hardest challenges. For the record, I still prefer clear, sharp reference photos for my commissions.

I hope this story brought some joy to your day.

Have a great one!

Love,

Pat

P.S. If you are considering giving art as a gift to go to the Commissions page on my website to check the prices and let’s start the conversation.