Today’s been coming for a long time!! I’ve been thinking about what to do with my December sabbatical all year long, and it’s time to start the planning – commissions, animals, pastels, and fun!

I know not everyone cares, but a number of you have asked me over the last couple years about a commission. I apologize for always putting you off, but now at least I have a way to get going.

Side note – I was filming the headshot portion of this video, and apparently there’s some kind of automatic emoji stuff going on – if I put a thumb up, a thumb bubble popped in. I was freaked out when the software threw balloons all over the screen! I think I need to find out how to turn that off, it scared me! ha!

Tutorial: News about commissions – and a sale!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

A few pics

The rest of the photos are over on the commissions page, but here’s a few to show you here:

Kitty

This sweet kitty makes me want to cuddle him! I brightened up the colors for the portrait and amped up the saturation.

Simplification

I’ve been playing with backgrounds – soft blends, a little bokeh, enough to be interesting but a nice way to make the attention really fall on the subject.

Size matters

For some subjects you might need/want something bigger. Like if you want all your dogs and cats in one picture, the 8×10 or 9×12 would be too small. This landscape is done at 16×20 – and yes, that means you can request a landscape too.

Sketch option

I decided to include an option for 5″ x 7″ sketches – looser since they’re smaller, and they can be in pastel, gouache, or pen and ink. I created a yawning cat in both pastel and gouache to compare them.

Pop over to see more

On the Commissions page are more photos of my pastel paintings and the small sketches, plus the form. And on the Works for Sale page, you can get 20% off with coupon code – it’s at the top of the page. Help me clear the shop, I have more to add but need to get a few things moving 🙂