Big Commission Boards

• After getting the work at the libertine bar I got approached by the owner of an air bnb who wanted some huge boards to fill some of the rooms.
• He had been looking for abstract tribal art - he really liked my work from the bar and wanted a similar colour pallet.
• He wanted a huge landscape boards wider than 2m and then two 1m x 1m square boards.
• Finding and transporting boards that size was difficult.
• I suggest doing him massive canvases but he had planned on getting them framed - finding canvas that size was also difficult anyway.
• Drawing on fabric that could be rolled up could have been an idea but I had never worked with that material before and I didn't want to risk it on a payed commission.
• I ended up getting a lift with my mate to a wood merchants place where I got a massive 2.5m x something boards and then got 2 meter squares cut - the best wood for the job was ply wood because it was very light, thin but also sturdy and not to flexible - a lot of the board this size where way too heavy. There was no way the huge board would fit in the car so I had to walk it all the way back to my house.

After I had all the boards sorted and had them painted with a coat of white emulsion I made some character designs for the different boards. I experimented with faces, arms and other body shapes in different compositions, I then sent them over two him to chose his favourites... 

The sketches he chose...

• I like the ones he chose - they where definitely some of the better ones from the set, I like the symmetry in the one to the left.
• I was really excited by this project - and was looking forward too further exploring an aesthetic similar to the libertine bar design.
• I was really pleased to have another opportunity to explore my large scale painting in a more professional way - and also based around some kind of brief (requirements), I could feel how my personal and professional practice where combining into one thing.  

I sketched out the rough outlines onto the boards using some random paint I could find - this ment I could start laying the spray paint straight down and didn't need to waste a spray can to sketch out the initial outlines - plus I find sketching with a brush easier sometimes - you can be a bit looser and take more time thinking about the shapes - you have to really commit to the lines you create with a spray can.

Finished Boards...

• Im really pleased with the finished boards, I tried out some slightly new medias within them because I thought it was good chance to experiment - rather than using just spray paint for all the colour and line work - I used a really thick 20mm ink marker to outline and add in extra details, I really like how it looks with against the spray qualities, it gives the black outlines a mixture of line qualities which makes the pieces look much more complex and layered. The marker was mat black and the black spray I used was gloss so it creates an interesting differentiation. I also allowed the pen to drip a lot which I like and adds to the hand painted qualities. 
• I also used white acrylic paint rather than white spray paint - when I first starting painting the acrylic on I was vey unsure how it would work with the bold flat spray paint. But I am really pleased I decided to change it up a bit - I really like the slight texture that the white gives, its hard to tell in photographs but in the real boards it was applied thick and stuck out and was a really nice combination with the solid flat spray paint - I will definitely continue to work with thick acrylic, spray and markers for my large scale work.

Thick marker...

Im not sure which board I like best - I like how the two squares work as a set - and how I included some pink in them. This project has gained me a lot more confidence in making big commission boards - and also discovered a lot about media application.

I also gained more confidence with communicating with the client and talking through ideas and also pricing my work - I got payed more for these than the Libertine and it took less time so that is a result. Organising the transportation of the boards was tricky but he managed to get somebody with a van to pick them up from my house. Overall I think its good to note that when working on commissions - the painting is not the only work - a lot of skills in organisation, time management and communication are also required.

The client was really happy with the boards - I have asked him to send me a picture of them when they are framed and up on the walls - I thought it would be a good pic to have for my portfolio.

Another thing to note from this project was that I got the money first before I started the boards - I much preferred working in this way because I have had trouble getting money off clients in the past, after I had already made the work - which is not a good feeling - I felt much more confident working knowing I already had the money - with any future commissions I will always look at getting some of the money up front - especially now I have worked few.