A Small Commission

It's not often an artist uses a plein air study for a much smaller studio painting.  Usually it's the other way around.  In the case of a commission by a small group of individuals pitching in money with a small budget for a gift to a co-worker, it's understandable. 

The group was interested in a painting of the Missouri River scenery from Wyeth Hill (St. Joseph, MO).  Seeing a 24x36 oil I did, they asked if I had anything smaller in scale.  It just so happens I have a 9x12 plein air study laying around in the studio.  But the 9x12 oil painting was not within their size range or budget.  They wanted me to do a similar painting, but smaller.  Since 8x10 is the smallest size I work in, the $200 price was still too high and size too large.  Some artists would put their foot down and only do the work they are able to make a good profit from and think is worth their time.  I was willing to help this group figure something out, even for a small sale.  Knowing that they will want to have it framed (since it is a gift), I stuck with standard sizes and found two that will work nicely together---a 5x7 painting in an 8x10 frame.  Soon after, I had to come up with a price for a 5x7 pastel painting.  When I quoted them $150 plus tax, they were thrilled.  They had already pooled together $160 as their budget. 

This is the first miniature painting (5x7) I've done and it turned out nicely.  Not only were they thrilled about the price I quoted, they loved the painting as well.

"Down Stream"

5x7 pastel

2016