ON MY MIND…

November 30, 2018

Always Say Yes

In 2001  I was asked if I was interested in taking on a mural project that would span 48’ surrounding an atrium at a private residence in Orange County, Ca. This project would have me  painting 25 feet up in the air, on a very teetery lift. I’d be asked to paint in a foreign medium, a subject matter that I knew nothing about and in which I wasn’t particularly interested. And I had just met the owners, and had no idea what they were like or how it would be working in someone’s home for such a long period of time. Though I was terrified on all fronts,  I said yes. Above and beyond the concerns just listed, my biggest fear was that my blossoming career as a gallery artist would be snuffed out by such an all consuming project.

I was right. RIP gallery career…

Doing commission work, by its nature, comes with limitations. Please paint this subject, in this medium with these colors, for that space. Oh, and do it really fast. As artists we hate this.  We are asked to put aside our personal jar of proprietary and uniquely brilliant ideas, and use our “talents” to shape a foreign block of marble.  In this we often feel like we are selling out, especially considering that money is usually the driving force behind accepting most commissions. “A portrait of your grandson with the family dog?” “Sure!” “Yes ma’am I think that’s a great idea, I’d love to paint the view from the beach where your husband proposed.”

This doesn’t sound awesome.

But I have learned to truly love it.

I love it because I have learned and grown more doing work for hire than I have doing my “own” work. The great stained glass artist Henry Holliday once said “to an artist, like a poet, limitations are full of suggestions”

The limitations in the case of commission work are the forced acceptance of input from people who we don’t deem worthy of input. So many times I have been asked to add, subtract, change, and distort my ideas. It’s the Pastor who requests something seemingly ridiculous, or the company owner who has an idea. Even my wife, far from being an artist, has corrected me and given me input that has truly enhanced my work. And for some reason when an art piece is all said and done, and you can point to those contributions from others and acknowledge their value, there’s nothing better. It’s the kind of satisfaction that feels so much better that the direct type you feel when you do something you are solely responsible for. In the words of author and pastor Tim Keller, “on our own, we can only be so much of “ourselves.” We require exposure to others to unlock certain aspects of ourselves that are uniquely us. In other words, It takes a community to know an individual.

And as artists, as humans, that’s what we want. To be known.

The mural commission took me 2 years to complete. And while it killed my gallery career, it gave birth to a wealth of opportunity that has led me to now. I not only learned a tremendous amount about site specific painting, perspective, and American History, but I created lifelong friends in my commissioners and their family. That mural led me directly to my job at Judson Studios. At Judson I discovered glass, a medium that has become my passion. All of my work at Judson was commissioned work. I had to study scripture. That led me back to my faith. I was tasked as the gallery assistant, where I met my future wife at an event. I was “forced” to learn to paint in an old style with a new medium in order to replicate windows of the past. This gave me an enduring passion for glass painting. And ultimately, designing the Resurrection Window in Kansas forced me to learn how to melt glass into images. Something that has led me to an exciting time where I find myself the owner of a fused glass studio in Los Angeles, pursuing projects large and small around the globe.

I have learned that it’s important to say “yes” when someone gives you an opportunity. Whether it’s an invitation to an event, an opportunity to try something new, or simply an offer for a meal or a drink. Commissioned artwork is an opportunity. To be something that you can’t be on your own, to do something that will create relationships, and to offer a community experience that is unique and infinitely satisfying.

…..read more about me here…..

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