Friday 11 October 2013

Secret commission 1

I couldn't post about this at all, but now I can.

Its not a video game painting, but a painting of a place. My BFF was 50 last month, and she took 28 of us away for the weekend to the Olde Rectory in Whitbourne near Worcester.

She didn't want people to buy her a present, but asked for home-made presents. I'd asked her about 6 months ago what she'd like, and she said a painting. Easy enough, but of what?

In June, she said she'd like a painting of where we were going to stay for her birthday, but realised she couldn't have that painting until after we had been. She said she imagined me sitting and sketching on the Saturday afternoon.

Well, on the way home from the Glastonbury Festival, I googled The Olde Rectory, and discovering it could be on the way home, phoned them to arrange to go there to take photos. Sadly, there are more than one place called The Olde Rectory, and as soon as I pulled up, I realised it was the wrong place - it was far too small for 28 people.

The owners were waiting for me outside, so I couldn't just drive away - I took a few photos, thanked them then left. Whoops! Worse, I had my very tired daughter with me, who had just wanted to go home. She's very forgiving, though, and didn't complain.

I fared better on attempt #2, on the way back from London this time with my son. I didn't phone ahead, just in case it was the wrong place again. I arrived, and there was no-one there, so I roamed around the grounds taking lots of photos on my ipad.

I chose this image to paint, as I loved the church building peering through the branches of the trees. I also took a few close-ups of the church tower so I could get the stonework detail right.






I decided to focus in on just a section of the painting:




Then I headed home, relieved to have gone to the right place.

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