A NEW COMMISSION, PAINTING OF A BOAT

Hello! Today I'll share with you a commission painting of a boat. I'll also share some photographs taken last summer that I haven't shared before so that you can see what inspires me to keep making boat paintings (and that would be Dalmatia- my native region). If you want to see more of my commission work, you can have a look at this family portrait I did in 2018. When I was first approached for a commission, I remember I was surprised but I didn't really hesitate to accept it. I'm glad I didn't. It's a wonderful feeling being able to bring someone joy with your art. I only had a few commissions so far, but they were all win-win situations where everyone is happy so I'll probably say yes in the future as well. All the commissions I had were from local people and I imagine that will be the case with future ones as well. In comparison with my first commission, this painting was easier to do because I was given a quality reference photograph and I didn't really have to make that many adaptations. The guy that ordered this painting is a hobby photographer and he wanted me to turn one of his boat photographs into a painting. I paint traditional fishing boats pretty often so that wasn't a problem. In fact, my home is filled with boat paintings.  Scroll down to see the reference and the work in process photographs. 

A T-SHIRT FROM REDBUBBLE WITH A PRINT OF ANOTHER OF MY BOAT PAINTINGS


So, the first thing I did was to make some measurements on the photograph (basically just putting some shapes there) to give myself the feeling of proportions and dimensions. I ended up changing the perspective slightly, making it seem like we're looking at the boat from above rather then from the side. I also decided to drop some things out of the composition because the painting was supposed to be done on a small frame canvas. So, I focused on the boat and the sea and cut out the bottom part of the photograph. I made a few alternations as I went along. I didn't sketch the boat in advance as I usually do because I wanted to paint the water first. My husband, who likes practical jokes, photographed my initial painting and sent that initial layer of paint (with just the sea) to the guy asking him to pick it up and saying the painting was completed. 


As you can see, I made a few adjustments along the way. I struggled more with the sea then with the boat itself. Curiously enough, painting boats comes almost naturally to me. This surprises me because in the past I struggled with the technical and practical side of art- probably because I have never worked on it in a systematic way. Isn't that often the case? We may think that we're good at something but the truth is that we have never tried to do it. When I took an art course, I found out that I can get better in all the things I wasn't good at. For example, mixing colours came naturally to me but I struggled with proportions, dimensions and perspective. I'm still not perfect at it, but I'm working on it. It isn't easy but it isn't impossible either. 

 Sometimes it is hard to tell for sure what is a mistake and what is your own style. Developing one's style is tricky. I feel like a lot of people don't want to practice those basic art skills because they are afraid of loosing their style. I can understand this because doing art practice, sketches and measurements isn't the most fun thing in the world. Often you feel like you're just going through the motions.  However, often it is the case that practice makes perfect. The more confident you are in your art skills, the easier it is to own your art style. It's hard to find a balance for sure. You don't want to overdo things by just practicing all the time, but you also need to find time to work on things you aren't good at. You want to keep an eye on things you can and should improve, but you don't want to kill your desire to do art or destroy your self-confidence. You know, I think everyone who does art struggles with this. It just comes with the territory. 

Back to the subject of this painting. It took me about two days to finish it. Bellow you can see more work in progress photographs. First I painted the first layer of the sea with different shades of blue, then I painted the boat on top of that blue. I changed up the boat shape and adjusted the perspective slightly. After that I worked on the sea some more and then I added the reflection of the boat in the water. Finally I added all the finishing touches on the boat, in the reflection and in the sea. I was happy with the end result, I think it is close enough to the reference photograph, but it also reflects my own personal style. One more thing- the name of this boat is Čombo. My husband tells me that in their jargon it describes someone or something that is small and rounded, often a term used for a short fat person. The boat is kind of small and rounded so that makes sense. You could say that it is a fat boat. I found online that in the dialect of Dubrovnik city čombo means a doll or a weirdo. I haven't heard of this word before and I'm not familiar does it have additional jargon or dialect meanings. I would have to do some research, but anyhow its name is one of the reasons why this little rounded boat was photographed and ended up as a painting in the first place. 



As always, thank you for reading and visiting. I'm linking this up with Nancy's Fancy Friday Link up. Have a nice day!

Comments

  1. Che bellooooo, adoro anche questo, i tuoi dipinti mi emozionano sempre!
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    1. It's so interesting to see the progression of the painting and how you go about doing it. I am sure there are so many little things to have in mind too..like lighting and being comfortable creating your work. Awesome job! Thanks so much. All the best to your new adventures in art, too!

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    2. Lighting can be quite important sometimes. They say it is best to paint during natural light. However, often it happens to me that I paint during the night because it is hard to find the time during the day.

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  2. Wonderful painting! Nice sunny summer, too! Thank you so much for you comments. I greatly appreciate them.

    All the best to your creativity!

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  3. Wow this looks amazing!!    

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  4. My Mind Is Blown - Allow Me To Start With The Photo Of The Print On The T Shirt - That Back Drop Is Gorgeous - What A Location For A Relaxing Walk - Now, The Explanation Of How One Begins With Measurements, Brilliant - The Verity Shades Of Blue Is Remarkable And How The Water Appears To Be Alive Takes Such Skills - The Reflection Of The Boat Is Spot On - The Talent You Display Is Beyond Inspiring - So Proud Of You - Well Done - Enjoy The Week Ahead With The Hubby And Stay Creative

    Cheers

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  5. Gorgeous picture, you're so good at capturing the motion of the sea. Love the nautical vibe of your pretty dress, too! x

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  6. What a stunning picture and congratulations on getting that commission! xxx

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  7. That is a wonderful painting and great photos too :-D

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  8. Me gusto la pintura el mar te salio genial se siente un poco salvaje. en fin la pintura esta muy linda te mando un beso

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  9. What a great creative skilles! My sisters paints also. I can't even draw a line, lol.

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  10. Sei una vera artista Ivana, questa barca è così reale!
    Buona festa della donaa, tesoro!
    Kisses, Paola.

    Expressyourself


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  11. Sei splendida Ivana belli i posti e bellissima la tua arte ti auguro di arrivare molto in alto

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  12. It looks fantastic and I think it's pretty great to get a commission for a painting. You are very talented. I love the painting, it looks like in the picture, but not exactly the same, which is great. Well done! xx

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  13. Odlično si oslikala ovaj čamac, svaki detalj mi se sviđa! <3


    http://www.couture-case.com/

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  14. It's a beautiful painting Ivana! and as you say it's a win win situation, I'm so happy for you!!
    xoxo

    marisasclosetblog.com

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  15. I really like how you've defined the water, so that's almost abstract stripes vs. photorealism. I think it has more impact that way. Congratulations on the commission - once your current customer shows this off, I bet you will get tons more, Ivana! :)

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    1. Thank you Sheila. I love painting water, it's very challenging but also very interesting at the same time.

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  16. How cool that you got a commission! I always like how you detail your artistic process. The painting came out beautiful.

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All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

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