Earlier this year, a man contacted me about doing a commissioned painting for him. He had three beautiful photos he’d taken of barred owls: a female, juvenile, and male, and wanted a Barred Owl Triptych done of them.
His vision was these owls would be painted on a canvas and then framed with an old three-paned window. He quickly gave up on the idea of finding a three-paned window and instead made one himself. He suitably distressed it so it looked old and chiselled out the spots where hinges would have been.
Then, when I realized the size was so unique and told him I couldn’t make the stretcher bars for the canvas, he built the stretcher frame to my specifications! This was a unique commission, where I was working with another creative mind.
He even had in mind how he wanted to present the painting as an anniversary/birthday gift for his wife. I’d hang the painting at the Riverguild with a SOLD sticker on it, then write her name beside it: “For Heather.” He’ll “drop by” with her on their way out for dinner, surprise her, and pick it up.
I kept him posted on my progress throughout the summer. At one point, he emailed, “Oh, could you add a dragonfly on the frame?” Sure!
So, now that the piece is in its home, I can post this account of the work. Can you see the dragonfly?
Work in Progress
Here are some images of the work in progress:
First session: I started by blocking in the owls and backgrounds.
Second session: Next, I did major work on all three owls and backgrounds.
Third session: In this session, I got into more detail on the owls and adjusting the backgrounds. I found feather patterns and noticed each owl had hearts in their patterns!
Fourth session: Finally, I added more detail on everything before I’d finalize it one last time. At this point, I sent my client an image of the painting and the painting set into the frame. I asked if there was any tweaking required (I hadn’t added some minor details like fine feathers and the dragonfly on the frame).
He said, “It looks GREAT.” So, I had just one more session to finalize, and then the client came over to help me frame it once the painting had dried.
Future Plans
I was in the middle of doing this triptych when I went to my mom’s cottage. I was telling my family the story of how it came to be. My brother-in-law suddenly disappeared.
At first I thought, “well, I guess he’s not interested in the story.” But, no. He came back from under the cottage (the place where stuff was that came with the cottage when my parents bought it) carrying two old three-paned windows!
Some work on them will be necessary before I can use them for framing two future triptychs, but I’ve already been working on ideas. Please contact me if you’ve got some!