Day 18. Commissioned Work vs. Non-Commissioned Work

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

Untitled, 30×40, oil on canvas with cold wax and gold leaf

Commissioned Work vs. Non-Commissioned Work

When I was younger and, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to use the word “dumber,” I thought things like “Wow, it would be so great to be an artist. I could sell just one painting every month for five thousand dollars.” It’s not that my idea was completely outlandish, but as far as a business plan goes, it was both entirely arbitrary and woefully underdeveloped. 

I was in a taxi once and the driver asked what I did for a living. When I told him art, he gave me a run down of what his business plan would be if he were an artist– step one– put a lot of effort into a single painting, make it really special. Two– hang said painting in a really upscale hotel with a price tag of, oh, say, $15,000. Three– wait patiently for someone to bite. Eventually they will, even if it’s five years down the road.

My response was something along the lines of, well even if I did that and it sold every year, I can’t exactly live off a yearly salary of $15,000, can I? He was undeterred. He didn’t understand why more artists didn’t do what he proposed. And I could tell he’d been thinking about it for a while. 

We’ve got all these weird conflicting ideas about art– it costs too much, it costs too little, anyone could do that, that is an expression as unique as the soul that created it. 

I’ve found the most meaningful way to navigate the chaos surrounding the business of art is to get skin in the game, to stop watching and wishing and dreaming of weird arbitrary scenarios and actually enter a very real marketplace.

Today’s painting is a commissioned piece. The nicest couple from Monroe, Louisiana called me on the phone back in December. After passing the phone back and forth a few times and with that delightful Monroe accent, they explained that they’d seen a few of my pieces at a neighbor’s house and wanted one similar to “Origami Sky” for their dining room. So a few days before Christmas, on their way to Houma, they stopped at my house in Covington to discuss the details. She didn’t want so much gold in the background, but asked if I could use a little gold leaf. I agreed.

In the midst of a chaotic Christmastime, their visit was a gift. It reminded me that I am actually doing that very thing that was once so fanciful I could only think of it in the most arbitrary terms. The couple is going to back to Houma in February, and they’ll be picking up their painting on their way.

Unlike all my others so far this month, this one has a deposit on it. The balance is coming in just a couple weeks. There is no hoping someone will buy it. You would think it would have been first on my priority list. You would think I would not have waited until days 17 and 18 to get going on it. But I did. 

Maybe the business of art is so frustratingly contradictory because there is a quiet push and pull between your own vision and the vision of the community around you. The thought of using the colors that please someone else versus the ones that speak to me in that moment, is daunting. And rewarding

At one moment art is freedom and at the other it is restraint. Both have value. Both engender growth. The business of art is complicated, but there is no better way to cut through it than to put brush to canvas, to work within and beyond the confines of specific spaces, and to share your own visions even as they are influenced by those of the community around you.

This painting is round 1. I’m going to send an image of it to the couple and see what work is still left to be done. In the meantime, I’d love your thoughts on the gold leaf– I’ve never used it before. 

 

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=”Sidebar” orientation=”left” area=”sidebar-1″ background_layout=”light” remove_border=”off” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Picture of Denise Hopkins

Denise Hopkins

January 18, 2018

Share Post

3 Responses

  1. The gold leaf is awesome! Subtle, but lends that little bit of glimmer. I’m sure they will love this piece. Gorgeous. I’m trying to do exactly what you’re talking about with my art. Actually, to stop talking and DO IT! Thanks for your thoughts, they ring true as always, Denise.

  2. My wife Becky saw this, and said ‘That is the most beautiful painting I have seen.’ And we’ve seen a lot of your beautiful paintings. Of course, I said “I’ll buy it for you.” And she reminded me it is spoken for. Anyhow….we both find the painting to be remarkable.

  3. Great reflections here, Denise. I learned a lot as someone who still has somewhat vaguely define ideas on how to turn my artistic expression into a viable career. And of course the painting is amazing. Loving the gold leaf and movement.

Leave a Reply

blog

Related Blog Posts

Remember You are Dust

One of the first things I remember learning as a child was the concept of patterns. Teachers seemed to be...

View Post
gallery wall oil paintings
July 2024, New Work Preview!

After kicking off 2024 with a (mostly) small painting a day in my annual 31 in 31 practice, I was...

View Post
Day 31. If you want to go far…

  “If You Want to go Far” 24×30 inches, oil on canvas I started this month with a bike, and...

View Post

Privacy Policy

This following document sets forth the Privacy Policy for this website. We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Crh), which sets out a number of principles concerning the privacy of individuals using this website.

Collection of your personal information

We collect Non-Personally Identifiable Information from visitors to this Website. Non-Personally Identifiable Information is information that cannot by itself be used to identify a particular person or entity, and may include your IP host address, pages viewed, browser type, Internet browsing and usage habits, advertisements that you click on, Internet Service Provider, domain name, the time/date of your visit to this Website, the referring URL and your computer’s operating system.

Free offers & opt-ins

Participation in providing your email address in return for an offer from this site is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose your information. You may unsubscribe at any time so that you will not receive future emails.

Sharing of your personal information

Your personal information that we collect as a result of you purchasing our products & services, will NOT be shared with any third party, nor will it be used for unsolicited email marketing or spam. We may send you occasional marketing material in relation to our design services. What Information Do We Collect? If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses.