I began work on this fuchsia painting commission just after the new year began. The client, who owns a cottage on the cliffs of Ireland, wanted to commission a piece that reminded her of County Cork. Being away from Ireland much of the year, she thought it would be nice to be able to send cards to her Irish friends that featured artwork that would feel close to home.
If you’ve ever been to a rural part of Ireland, you probably know how windy the roads are—nestled tightly against bright green fields as far as the eye can see. This client noted how beautifully and wildly fuchsia flowers grow along hedges in County Cork—it’s somewhat of a symbol for the region.
So I got started by sketching a composition digitally on my iPad. This is my preferred way of sketching at the moment. It saves a lot of paper and pencil smudges and allows me to move elements around and resize them to achieve a balanced look. Once I have reached the final digital sketch, I print it out, then grab my light board and transfer the printed sketch onto the paper I’ll be painting on. This is very reminiscent of my elementary school art days. Anyone else have a backlit table for tracing things in your art classroom growing up?
In the reference photos that the client had sent me, I noticed how the fuchsia flowers looked at different stages of growth. The flowers begin as small, pale green bulbs, then develop into a pale pink teardrop shape. Once they’ve bloomed, they have a very striking combination of hot pink and deep purple petals, with delicate stamen hanging below. Some people have likened them to little ballerinas, which I find to be precious.
What makes me proud of this fuchsia painting commission is how I developed the composition of the piece. I have mostly created compositions off of a single reference photo (i.e., draw what you see in the photo, more or less). This time, I was pulling from multiple photos and trying to come up with a branch that featured all of these different stages of flower development.
Once the piece was finished, I scanned the painting and then began some touch-up work in Photoshop. The scanner never picks up the true essence of the piece, so it’s necessary to make some adjustments to the scanned image to create the look you desire.
I then printed a set of 25 cards for the client, and voila! These made their way to a happy client who can’t wait to send cards out to her Irish friends, especially with St. Patrick’s Day approaching!
The client also allowed me to make prints and cards available in my shop for YOU as well. You can shop this print and greeting cards.
Does this spark any ideas for a commissioned piece? Feel free to get in touch with me to discuss your project in mind.
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