Painting - Airstream

Airstream - Copy of Photo
Oil on Mat Board
4x5"

First off, I loved this photo the moment I got it. An airstream on a bike? Awesome! It's a promotional photograph of a French Bicyclist, showing the feasibility of such a contraption. Braking might be a problem, but I know we have mechanical braking systems now that would work wonders and I would love to have one of these things!

And, I have to say that I love how this painting turned out. I've been getting a lot of photos people want me to do of black and white or monochromatic subjects. This one happens to be a black and white photo, and instead of doing a plain grey theme, I decided to play with warm and cools. I love playing with subtle shifts of temperature and I think these turn out well for me. Especially if I remember about values. Sometimes I forget, it happens.

I turned to my favorite, the Zorn Palette. Unfortunately I was out of Ivory black, ended up with the fairly neutral lamp black, and needed to cheat a bit with a bit of sap green and cerulean. But I did keep it fairly neutral. I didn't use any in the sky, but close to the horizon and in some of the underbrush.

I think I fell in love with this painting and it broke my heart to have to send it on its way. But I am glad it's going to be loved :)

I've got nine paintings due soon, so expect those before everything else. Oh my gosh I have a lot to do! I want to work from life more, but I've been doing so much work from people's photographs. I feel it's great to be painting daily, but I need to paint from life.

How do you balance your own work and your work for other people that actually pays the bills?