
Original watercolour of Rockcliffe in Dumfries
I was recently commissioned to paint an original watercolour of Rockcliffe in Dumfries. The client wanted it for her husbands 50th birthday. It’s a place that holds particularly fond memories for them as a family. Fortunately I had been to exactly the same spot last year with my wife, daughter and grandchildren. I had actually painted a small sketchbook study of the bay and taken some suitable photographs which I could work from.
Sketchbooks
This is one of the reasons why I always try to remember to take my sketchbook and paints with me. You never know when someone will be in touch to commission a scene of the place you have visited. Our family holiday to Dumfries is the classic example. Even though the weather was quite poor for much of the trip, I still managed several sketchbook watercolours.
I regularly have customers contact me to commission a painting. This commission made me realise just how easy it is to commission a painting for a present. To re-enforce the process on how to go about the initial discussions I’ve had a short video filmed by Gavin Dowd of Word Out Media. Follow the link to watch the video.