COMMISSIONED TIES

Commissioned Ties

As I participate in more and more art shows, I am happy to be getting more and more commission work.  I am honored that people enjoy and want me to create something unique but I really stress over trying to match the customer's ideas.

A good friend asked that I create a page of ties for her husband.  Her husband loves ties and not just any ties - he loves a particular brand and style.  When she emailed me his choice ties I immediately panicked - they were really ornate, highly detailed and vivid colors.  My dictionary pages can't tolerate much pressure or heavy mark making and the mediums I've discovered don't lend themselves to intricate details.  My friend seemed okay with the need to take some "creative liberties" with the subjects.

Today I tackled this project and it was a rough one.  I love drawing when things flow and the piece nearly draws itself. In fact, drawing is much like therapy for me. This project took me hours (even though it looks really simple) and I spent most of the time fighting what I was doing.  I grit my teeth and plowed through and fortunately, my friend loved the finished product......"whew-eeee!"

I think I'd like to create a TIE page for father's day but for my next one I am going to play with some simpler patterns.