These days, I rarely find myself without a commission to be working on. Right now I have four. It's a good thing because:

- I get paid for what I love doing.

- Most clients let me "do my thing" without micromanaging. They know I know better :)

- I actually like bringing art into their lives by painting something (or someone) they already love.

There are some down sides to doing custom work, of course, but I'm okay with them for now.

The two sketches today are for portraits of two brothers that I will be working on over the next few weeks. Thumbnail sketches are what I do after reviewing the reference photos and before starting the work on the paintings. I find them helpful in many ways, such as getting familiar with the subject, figuring out format and composition, getting a feel for the colors I may use in the painting, and communicating to the client my vision for the portrait. Sometimes I do several sketches and let the client choose...people like having a choice :)

Interested in commissioning a painting? Go here.