My next project is a commissioned oil painting. Lily's parents have asked me to render a cherished moment on canvas.  It will capture a special time in a young girl's life.  "Family And Friends" will show her world of stuffed animals in her playroom, and also highlight her family in photos. Each animal holds a special place in her heart and in her mind.  This painting will try to portray that innocent time in her life when anything is possible.  It's a time when her toy animals can come alive and fill her room and mind with joy and wonderment. 

This painting began by the parents sending me some photographs.  The photo above shows the young girl in her playroom, surrounded by all her stuffed friends.

This photo shows the view out the windows of the playroom, something that her parents thought would work well in the background of the oil painting.

They also sent photos of her favorite animals.  We would be using some of them in the painting, so the right ones needed to be chosen from the beginning.

The most important animal is the elephant.  This soft 'big guy' would have to play a large role in the image.


Since this was a long distance commission, I was sent all the images by email.  My clients wanted me to include three photos in the painting.  One with their immediate family (not pictured), one with grandma (above)and...

...one with grandpa.

With a combination of my Wacom drawing pad and Photoshop, I put together my vision for the painting.  With so many birds being amongst the favorite grouping, I decided to have them flying towards the window in her room, as she sits atop the elephant.  The mouse seemed appropriate with all the stories of mice and elephants, so I had him sit next to the elephant, watching his bird friends on their approach.  The seagull had already landed and sits on the wall at rest.  The three photographs have been put into desktop frames, all angled at her.  After emailing this to my clients, they decided that all three of the photos in the painting should have their daughter in it (great suggestion).  They sent me a replacement photo for the grandfather.

Happy little girl on grandpa's lap.

Another good suggestion from the parents was to use a stacked stone wall in the painting, since their home has this wall style integrated througout its architecture. 

During our back and forth emails, it was also discovered that one of this little girl's favorite animals was left out of the picture... a baby red-tailed hawk.  I would add him to the other three in the sky.

With those three changes in mind, I came up with the final design.  "Family And Friends" is ready to become a reality.

I'm going to show how I put together a top-of-the-line canvas for this painting.  First off, I use the best double primed linen portrait canvas available -- Fredrix Rix DP.  Since my clients want a contemporary presentation, they've requested a gallery wrap canvas, which is wider on the edge so that the linen canvas can wrap around the perimeter without any staples showing.  The stretcher bars I am using are incredibly strong and versatile.  They are made out of aluminum with the wood attached to outside of the bar.  In each corner is a turnbuckle, which can be uses to tighten the canvas if necessary.

The two nuts of the turnbuckle twist to spread the corner of the stretcher frame.

Here it is fully assembled.

I then lay the linen canvas face down on the floor and measure 5 inches beyond the stretcher bar.

I mark the cut off point from the roll and...

...it looks like this.

Initially, I staple a few areas around the stretcher bar so that I can stand it on end.

In order to get some pressure to staple, I lean the canvas up against the wall, pull the the canvas tight with canvas pliers and then staple the linen canvas securely to the frame.

Now the canvas is ready.

My clients flew into Orange County and brought their daughter and most of her stuffed animals to my home and studio.  Just as my children and many other models have done in the past, our beautiful model sits in the sunlit street in front of our home, with dad helping to position her to be photographed.

I have her looking up in the sky, which will be perfect for her positioning in the painting.  She looks great!

Her parents toted a large duffel bag with all her animals except for the elephant, which is as big as all the other animals combined.  He arrived via UPS later in the week.

Mr. Seagull is photographed on the edge of a table to simulate the stone wall he'll be sitting on.

Carol (wife and assistant for 42 years), held each bird for me, giving me some idea what they would look like in the air.

The eagle is soaring.

The owl is hovering.

The parrot is spreading his wings.

I didn't have to ask the mouse to look up in the sky.  He seemed to already know his part in the painting and was the perfect model.

Mr. Elephant had a separate photo session after arriving via UPS.

In order to get the proper perspective on the three photographs, I put them into a frame and photographed them in the proper angle. Each photograph not only shows the people who love her...

...but also shows her at 3 different ages, which is very cool.

I've sketched the objects out on the canvas, using the photographs I've taken, and have started the painting by blocking in the sky.

We discussed the treatment of the outside edge of the canvas and have decided to paint it a shade of blue.

Next I've roughed in the distant hills and bay.

The foreground area of green hills and trees is painted in.

I've completed roughing in the landscape out the window by painting the foreground bushes.

This is a close-up of the right side of the canvas and...

...here is the left side bushes.  I've painted them in a value that is dark enough to begin pushing the lighter background into the distance.

I blocked in the wall, painting it a little darker and more defined so that I have some good underpainting when I detail the stone and the irregular cracks or spacing.

Since the wall casts shadows onto the floor surface, I painted in the mouse, who sits in the shadow of the elephant.

The shadows from the wall, the dinosaur and the elephant/mouse are now in position.

I've also painted the warm floor color.

Moving into the sky, I'll begin painting the flock of birds, starting with the baby red-tailed hawk.

Below the hawk is the bald eagle.  As with all my paintings, I have painted this in with a fairly rough form, allowing me to adjust and focus on detail in the final pass of oil.

Here is the owl, floating above.

A bright spot of color, the parrot completes the 4some in the sky.

Here's a photo of the gang of four.

When working from photographs, I clamp a holder to my stretcher bar and tape the photo off to the side of the canvas.  The seagull is painted onto the top of the wall.

The dragon sits amongst the family photos.

Here's a look at the entire canvas.  I'll work on the elephant next.

The elephant is painted in, making our guest of honor look like a ghost on top of him.  I'll work on the three family photographs before painting the little girl.

I've begun the first of the three photos.  Each is a painting all by itself, with three portraits in this photo.  It took me quite a while just to get one of the faces rendered.

The first of the three portraits is roughed in.  Turned out great so far.  Will refine it later.

The second of the three photos has its first layer of paint.

As well as the third photo.

I've been working on the main subject on top of the elephant.  This is the last area of the painting to be painted its first layer of oil pigment.  This type of commissioned imagery not only expresses a fun idea, it also captures a moment in time, showing the clothing that she wore on that particular day.  Her shoes are very colorful also, documenting a style of footwear that is popular with young children.

The last element of the painting has been addressed. She is atop the elephant, holding her flamingo.  I decided to render her shoes and the pattern in her dress, both of which are extensions of her happiness.

Although I call this the 'half-way' point in the painting, (because one of two layers of paint have been applied), time wise it is about 1/3 of the way to completion.  Up to this point, I have been thinning the oil pigment with turpentine, trying to come as close as possible to the final coloration and value range (darkness).  From this point on, I will be mixing my colors straight from the tube, without any turpentine.  The pigment will be heavier and leave its impression with thicker brushmarks. 

 
The baby red tailed hawk is the first piece of the painting that has its final layer of paint.

The owl is made up of subtle shades of gray, defining the soft folds of the fabric.

Here's a close-up, showing the thick brush strokes of the oil paint. This final coat of paint isn't thinned at all with turpentine or any other medium.  It is 'straight out of the tube' thick.  The grays consist of a mixture of white, french ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and cadmium yellow.

All the stuffed animals in this painting have such great faces and textures.  I have to fight the tendency to make them look real and to just render them as material rather than feathers etc.  The bald eagle looks very stuffed...

The final flying bird, the parrot has been painted, showing his fluffiness.

I've made a small adjustment to the shrubbery behind the seagull, raising it up to provide a better background for his head. The photos above show the before and after.

I've begun to apply the final color in the sky.  The red arrow helps show the edge of the wet paint.  I'm increasing the value and raising the intensity of the hue.

In this photo, I am applying the final layer of paint in the sky.  Notice that I am wearing a hat.  Because I have to stand on a stool to get to the top of the canvas, it puts my head very close to the lights.  The glare in my eyes is too strong to see properly, so the hat blocks that glaring light.

Here is the finished sky. 

I'm painting the landscape scene out the window.  Here is a close-up photo, showing the thickness of the paint.

Here are a few more details of the landscape...

The "Stanford Dish" is in this detail.  I treated it loosely since it is in the distance.

The trees to the left and right of the window are completed.  This makes everything 'out the window' finished.

This close-up shows the detail of the left tree/shrubs and...

...this is the right side with the final paint.

I've detailed the stacked rock wall, varying the spaces between the rocks and adjusting the final colors.

Here's a look at the left side of the wall.

The seagull is completed.  Notice the darker shadow right behind his right foot. This is because his foot is blocking the reflective light from the ground.  This kind of detail makes a very 'unreal' situation look real.

The largest of the animals, the elephant is done.  I've worked hard to make him look as fluffy as he is.

Here's a closer look.

One of the smaller animals is also finished. When I positioned these two characters, it made me think of all the cartoons where the elephant was frightened by a mouse.  They're good buddies in this senario.

The dragon has his final layer of oil.  This completes all the stuffed animals.  Now I will concentrate on rendering each of the three photos, which is not unlike doing portraiture work.

The first photo, which is the most difficult, is finished.  It is painterly, but pretty specific to the subjects.

The second photo is done.  I darkened up both the photo and the frame except for the top part of the frame where the light hits.

The last photo is done, so I am on the home stretch.  Just need to paint the ground area and apply the final paint on the girl.

This close-up shows the final strokes of paint on her face.  I introduced some warm red tones, cast into the shadows on her skin from her dress.  I'm very happy with the final result on this very important part of the painting.

Here is a photo of this precious little girl in full. Notice the vibrance in her clothing and shoes.  This rich color helps push the background into the distance.

To complete the painting, I'm carefully painting the edge of the canvas to match the color of the sky.

The story of "Family And Friends" is told.  It's a wonderful feeling to have documented this special moment in time.

Click Here to see a larger image of this painting.