The journey of a commission piece

For the last few months I have been gradually working away on a couple of fairly large commissions. I have just completed one of them, so I thought I would share the process with you.

The commission is a 60 x 90 cm canvas and is a wave painting specifically set at Whitesands Beach with St. Davids head in the background.

I began by gathering a range of photographic reference material along with sketches and Acrylic colour studies:

The most fun part (and the most risky!) comes right at the end where I apply spatters of paint by flicking the bristles of a paint laiden brush to create the illusion of salty spray. This technique takes a bit of practice and more than a little bravery to pull off, but it’s very satisfying and gives the result a real sense of energy.

The finished painting will soon be heading off to its new home in Bristol as a special reminder to the owners of fun times here in Pembrokeshire!

If you’d like to find out more about commissioning a painting please visit my Commissions page.