Surviving “Baching It” for Three Weeks

Recently Maria travelled to China with her Mom, and I was left to bach it for three weeks and a day! There are positives and negatives to your wife being out of town. I always tell Maria, “You can go on any trip you want, but I would like you to be home after nine days.” That’s when I start to get weird from living alone. But China is a big country, and it takes over a day to get there, so she needed three weeks to get the most of the trip. It’s great to get some “me” time every once in a while, and normally about two or three days is more than enough. In college, I did a lot of that. We went to schools in the same state, but Maria was 90 minutes away, and we only saw each other on weekends. So, I am completely capable and can handle extended time periods by myself, and I actually get a lot of stuff done when I don’t have interruptions or distractions. Fortunately, during this recent time by myself, I had lots of people keeping me busy and visiting. There were some cool things to go to like Cheese Club and the Merry Marmot Festival at Arctic Valley Ski Area. Taco night at Ian’s house and other social events happened frequently enough that I was actually not free most nights.

Maria and Klavdia at the Great Wall of China

What do I do with my “me” time? I get to watch anything I want on TV. I rewatched Episodes 7, 8, and 9 of the Star Wars anthology. I listened to audiobooks out loud in the evening. I did Duolingo lessons until I took first place in the Diamond League. I brewed beer twice. When you are alone, you can buy whatever food you want to eat, drink the beer you want, and you can go to sleep and wake up whenever you think feels best, because you can just work later or earlier depending on how you feel. It is very freeing.

Now let’s talk about why it is lame to be alone for over nine days. Maria actually does a lot of work around this place. It took me an extra 30 minutes to do the house cleaning, and that is only because I didn’t use her bathroom; if I had, I would have spent an extra hour. I had to do all the cooking. I don’t eat at restaurants very often, and I don’t do it all by myself, so that meant I had to do all the food prep and the dishes. Chores are a problem, and they mount up when you are on your own. I always try to get some extra tasks done while Maria is away; I even came up with a list I called the “Master Plan.” It entailed oil changes for the vehicles, remodeling the garage, cleaning the inside and outside of all the vehicles, some other maintenance for the vehicles, and some house maintenance. I was going to open up the crawl space under the stairs, move and organize the shelves in the garage, and brew four beers. Well, I didn’t get all that done. The shelves are still there and packed with stuff, and I don’t have the crawl space opened.

Maria also does a lot of work for the art business. She maintains the Etsy shop, prints and mails out orders, edits blog posts, helps curate and schedule art shows, applies for grants/projects, and manages social media. When she is gone, I get to do all that and try to make paintings too.

Okay, I will talk about how I get weird living by myself. Rewatching Star Wars over and over isn’t good for you—too much violence and not much else. Since I am all alone, I start talking to myself. When I visit with friends, I talk way too much and about strange off-topics. I want to hang out with people, but then I just want to go home and be by myself. I just feel off balance. If I were single, I would probably get a roommate or live in a different situation, or just become weird. Probably just move to the cabin in McCarthy, and be that weird hermit that doesn’t say anything until he says too much. Cooking for oneself is okay, but I started to do weird things by the end. It isn’t normal to eat quinoa for every meal, is it?

Maria came home, and that is great! I don’t have to do nearly as many chores, and I have someone around to take care of me. Feed me healthy things, have someone to go for walks with, do 50% of the business work, and generally keep me a sane individual. And I have someone to drink the beer I made while she was gone! I had a party on a Saturday, and everyone just drank Pacificos. No one wanted to try the dark ale I had made. Maria’s next trip with her Mom is only for two nights to see Lady Gaga in Las Vegas, so I think I’ll manage, but three weeks was waaaaay too long!

Shipping a Large Painting from Alaska to Washington

~ by Maria Benner

We sold an oil painting on canvas to a couple that lives in Bellingham, WA, and the painting needed to be shipped there from Anchorage, AK. The problem was that the painting is 5ft x 4ft, and when Scott packaged it, the combined dimensions were just 4″ over the maximum size allowed by USPS, FedEx and UPS. So, we had to get quotes from other shippers like Matson, SpanAlaska, Lynden, etc. Again, there was a problem. They all asked what we wanted to ship, and then told us that they don’t ship original art. Okaaay, so we had to do more research. I checked with Alaska Airlines Cargo, and they don’t care if it’s an original oil painting, but then there was another problem. We could send the painting on a cargo plane to Seattle for a very reasonable rate, but in order for it to fly to Bellingham, we would need to apply for Known Shipper status with TSA, because that’s what you have to do in order to put cargo on a flight that also has passengers. This process would take a couple weeks, so we contacted our customers to tell them about the delay, and she told us that her uncle works for Alaska Airlines, and may agree to sign off on the shipment. Well, her uncle wasn’t very responsive. Probably because he was busy dealing with the Boeing Max 9 situation.

So, two weeks went by and we didn’t hear anything from TSA. Not being one to sit around and wait patiently, I started inquiring about our status. You cannot apply for Known Shipper status directly, a cargo carrier has to do it for you. We applied online through the Alaska Airlines Cargo website. TSA replied that they don’t talk to shippers directly, so I e-mailed Alaska Airlines, and they said TSA doesn’t tell them anything. About an hour later, we received an e-mail letting us know that our application had been approved! This was on Friday morning, and we still had time to mail the painting that afternoon. But nooooo, that would have been too easy.

Turns out we then had to create an account as a shipper with Alaska Airlines Cargo. Sounds easy enough, but after submitting the application online, we had to wait for it to be approved for several hours. So, we’d have to wait until Monday to mail the painting. Then I had to set up my username and password. There were problems with that too, because Alaska Airlines had just gotten a new computer system, and it was experiencing some glitches. After several e-mails back and forth with a cargo rep, I finally received the link to reset my password!

Finally, we could create the shipment online! But, for some reason we kept getting an error. The first customer service rep we called couldn’t figure out the problem and submitted a ticket for someone higher up the chain to help. We didn’t hear back for a couple hours, and as I mentioned earlier, I’m not the type to sit around and wait, so we called back, and this time the customer service rep figured out that the problem is that the plane from Seattle to Bellingham is not big enough to carry the painting! Turns out we didn’t have to wait two weeks to receive Known Shipper status after-all! I suppose it’s nice to have for future shipments though. So we called our customer and she was kind enough to agree to drive her truck to Seattle to pick up the painting.

We took the huge box to Alaska Airlines Cargo and made sure they put several “Fragile” stickers on it. We insured it for full value, crossed our fingers, and hoped for the best.

There is a tracking feature on the Alaska Airlines Cargo website, and we were able to track the painting’s every move. As I was checking its status the next day, I saw that it had been picked up by the customer, and then my phone rang. It was the customer service rep from Alaska Airlines calling to let me know the painting had been picked up. He said he had also been tracking it, and that this was the smoothest shipment he’s every seen. Our customer picked up the painting just a few minutes after it was unloaded.

We still couldn’t completely relax, because we didn’t know if the painting arrived in perfect condition. Our customers didn’t want to open it until the next day when they had more time. The next afternoon Scott received a text with a picture of the painting hanging in its intended place, above the fireplace where it fit absolutely perfectly. It arrived in perfect condition! We were all so happy! Thank you Alaska Airlines Cargo!

The original oil painting hanging in its new home! Canvas and paper prints in various sizes are available at our Etsy shop.

Celebrate Doghouse Day: Stick It to the Man and Score Valentine’s Deals on the 15th!

Happy Doghouse Day! You might be wondering what that means. Well, it’s a new holiday I invented last year that encourages “sticking it to the man”! If you’re tired of holidays driven by Hallmark profits, then join me in celebrating Doghouse Day. Here’s the concept: imagine you’re super relaxed in your relationship, so relaxed that you forgot to get anything for Valentine’s Day for your sweetheart. Valentine’s Day might have been a letdown, but here’s the good news – all the treats that were overpriced on the 14th are now heavily discounted. You actually are rewarded monetarily for your laziness!

I coined the term when I was randomly buying flowers at our local grocery store, and the gentleman in line behind me asked, “In the doghouse, huh?” He meant I must have done something to irritate my significant other, and now I was trying to buy my way back into her good graces with a dozen roses. Ironically, I wasn’t in the “doghouse”; I was just buying flowers because I like having cut roses at home, and so does my wife and partner, Maria. It was a surprise, not a makeup bribe.

Now, back to the subject of this new holiday celebrated on February 15th. I propose that we all “stick it to the man” and rebel against holiday-themed items on the actual day, but buy them at a discount on the 15th instead. Today is the 15th, and to celebrate, I bought a large supply of chocolate at 50% off! I would have bought roses too, but since they were at a different store, I didn’t get around to it. The concept isn’t about being in the doghouse — avoid that at all costs! It’s more of a tongue-in-cheek term. Don’t mess up your relationship, but I suggest buying something not labeled Valentine’s Day for the actual holiday – a quart of your partner’s favorite ice cream or some other non-holiday-specific treat.

Yesterday, we went to a nice dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but it wasn’t marked up like roses. Definitely don’t buy roses on the 14th, but do buy them on the 15th! I think you get it. Let’s all be counter-culturalists by celebrating Doghouse Day on the 15th of February!

Unveiling the Holiday Commissions of 2023

Now that we are through the busy holiday season, and everyone has opened their gifts, it is time to unveil the commissioned paintings that I had the pleasure to make for my patrons’ friends and loved ones. I had to keep them super secret up until now, so as not to spoil the surprise. The studio was abuzz with creativity, especially as the demand for custom paintings peaked in anticipation of Christmas. Successfully delivering each unique piece on time is no small feat, especially when working with the patience-demanding nature of oil paint compared to acrylics. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who entrusted me with their artistic visions, both this year and in years past! Collaborating on these projects is always a joy, as you generously share your personal narratives, allowing me to craft timeless paintings that encapsulate those cherished moments. Without further delay, let me present to you the seven commissions brought to life over the past couple of months.

8″x10″, oil on panel

11″x14″, oil on panel

18″x9″, oil on panel

8″x10″, oil on panel

12″x18″, oil on panel

18″x18″, oil on panel

11″x14″, oil on panel

Mastering the Art of Self-Employment: Productivity Through Our Daily Routine

by Maria Benner

Humans are creatures of habit, but we can use that to our advantage if we develop the right habits. Staying motivated and focused for self-employed people who work from home can be challenging. Scott and I not only live together, but we also work together and work where we live. Scott’s studio is downstairs, and my office is upstairs, so we both have plenty of space, so that’s not an issue. The issue is the temptation to just slack, relax and take a day off whenever we feel like it, like today, during a huge snowstorm. The house is cozy, the snow is beautiful, and we were very tempted to go play in the snow and ditch out on work. I’ll admit that we got a late start to work, because we took time to snow-blow the driveway, and take the snowmachine for a short spin around the snowy neighborhood streets. Then I made French toast for breakfast. After all that we both took a look at our calendar and narrowed our tasks down to just those that absolutely had to be done today, moving everything else to tomorrow, or another day. But what keeps us from doing this regularly? The reality that if we don’t work, we won’t be able to pay bills? Not that, although the thought is always in the back of our minds. The main habit that keeps us from slacking is having a work-day routine. We work Monday to Friday, during regular working hours, and take weekends off, like “normal” people. We keep a calendar of tasks and events that we have to accomplish each day, and if something doesn’t get done on the day it was scheduled to be done, it gets moved to the next day. We know several artists who fall into the bad habit of working late into the night, and sleeping in until late afternoon. Getting any real work done on that type of schedule is just not sustainable. Even worse, and more dangerous is the habit of drinking during the work day, which is a big no-no in our household, even-though Scott is the “beer artist”.

During the work week we stick to a routine that we’ve kept for years. We wake up at a reasonable hour, as if we had to go to work at a 9-5 job. Then we enjoy a cup of coffee while catching up on the news, social media posts, and extending our daily learning streaks on Duolingo, a language-learning app. “Coffee time” can sometimes drag on a bit too long, but the thing that switches my brain from coffee time to “let’s get going with the day” is when I start making the bed. Doing this every day is not only a sign of self-respect, it also triggers the brain to assume responsibility and begin working on daily tasks. Then we both do stretches/yoga and go out for a run. Scott does a 5-mile loop, and I choose one of my three favorite routes of various length. We have to get our workout done first-thing, otherwise we don’t find time for it during the work day, and we don’t like to run in the dark after work. We make smoothies for breakfast, because they are quick to make and pack a lot of nutrition, take showers, get dressed, and start tackling the tasks on the calendar. We take a break for lunch around 1:30pm, then work all afternoon until about 6:00pm.

After work I like to have “Happy Hour” which involves drinking a beer with some salty snacks. Then the evening activities begin such as making dinner, taking a sauna, or going out.

People often wonder how we stay motivated to work for ourselves at home, and in my mind, having this routine and following the calendar is the way we have been doing it for over ten years. This also works for finishing big projects over a long period of time. We just work on it a little bit each day, making the time for it on the calendar, thus fitting it into our work routine.

My First Album Cover

About two weeks ago I signed my first record contract.  No, I am not recording music, I get to design a record album cover.  So you might ask, how does an artist get such a gig?  Well, I have been a working artist for close to 20 years, and I have never been invited to do one before.  I actually wasn’t asked to do this one either, instead I asked the musician if I could do it.  During the pandemic, Michael Kirkpatrick, who is a folk singer from Fort Collins, CO did a live stream concert every Thursday for what seemed like an eternity.  Maria and I started looking forward to these “funstreams” and rarely missed one.  I started to get to know Michael’s songs pretty well, and invited him to play at our cabin in McCarthy during his summer tour in Alaska in 2021.  When he was packing up after the concert, I asked when he would release his next album and if I could be the artist to design it.  I told him I would do a trade out for another house concert. 

Michael playing at our cabin

I was very pro-active, possibly even annoyingly so.  I sent sketches to Michael with possible concepts several times, then I realized I was pushing too hard, so I sat back and waited.  Every time I go to the cabin, I always bring all my painting supplies, so I can work there too.  The day after I arrived to the cabin a couple weeks ago, I got a message from Michael telling me he wanted to talk about compensation for a full record album design.  We are talking vinyl here, not a CD, or digital release, although it will be all of those things too.  I have always loved looking at the artwork on vinyl records.  A couple of my favorites are Elton John’s Yellow Brick Road, and Captain Fantastic.  I also love Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, and Led Zeppelin 4.  I went online and found out how much an album cover design normally costs, and I charged him that, minus the price of a house concert.  Michael now wanted to move on it, since he had already recorded the songs at the recording studio, and they are finishing up remastering them now. 

The timeline was tight since I was planning on staying here in McCarthy for about a month.  I said I might get it done by the timeline he wanted.  I went to the tool-shed to look for pieces of plywood and other support materials that would be large enough to make a good album cover.  My original intention was to do these on canvas, about twice the size of the print version, but I didn’t have that here.  Instead, I found a nice piece of Baltic Birch plywood that I know would work well.  For a primer, I had a gallon of spar urethane, and I remembered using that for a cool piece I made in college.  Before I put a ton of time into a large album cover on experimental supports, I wanted to see how it would work, so I made a couple of test panels.  I painted a PBR on one and I was satisfied that it would be sufficient quality for the album design. 

The following week Michael and his band Violet Pilot came to McCarthy to play at the Golden Saloon.  I have never heard the band play live before, so I was really excited.  I asked the band if they wanted to go on the glacier the next day.  Sean McCauley, the drummer, was really excited and wanted to go swimming in a pool out there.  I was skeptical that would happen, but I said, “Bring your swim shorts and we will see…”  We had a slow start, since they played until after midnight — it was an epic performance!  They brought all the energy of a rock band and rocked like they were playing a show at a major sports stadium, instead of a backwoods bar.  I helped drive their equipment to the other side of the Kennicott River, then we went out on the glacier.  I couldn’t find the blue pool for a long time and I was afraid that Sean wouldn’t get to swim on the glacier.  But we saw over in the distance a wedding happening, low and behold at the blue pool!  We waited while drinking some glacier water using red vines as straws, then walked over there in our ice crampons.  A guide was letting two people go in and we kind of watched them do it, to see how to go about it safely.  Getting in and out is a problem, but the guide had a camping mattress and a safety line secured with an ice screw.  I had a stick and an extra jacket.  So I laid out the coat on the ice for entry and exit.  And  those crazy rock musicians went for a dip!

The blue pool on the glacier

We were late getting back to McCarthy town and I wanted to bring the band up to my cabin for a beer and chill session, but they all ate at the Golden Saloon, since it was included as part of their payment.  Michael came up the hill to the cabin and we talked about the album cover.  It was 80% done at this point and he was very happy with how it was going.  I made a few changes to the concept after discussing it with him.  I made a quick meal from some stuff I had on hand and then we went back to town after I made Michael help me with some heavy lifting chores.  I will be wrapping up the album design in the next week and when it is all approved and production ready I will blog about it again.  Showing off the final product when it is ready!               

Album cover design work in progress

Album cover design work in progress

Plein Air Oil Paint Palette Box

If you have been following me for a long time, you might remember that this blog was called the Plein Air Painting Blog.  For a refresher for those not in the art business, or not following my art career since I was 26 years old, plein air is a French term that means “outside, in the open air”.  So when you are plein air painting, you are simply painting outside of the studio, on location. Most often in front of a cool vista. I do this from time to time in breweries and I call it live painting, since I occasionally have an audience.  Well, I wanted to talk about a tool I invented for this type of painting way back when I was 27 years old — my paint palette box. 

A few weeks ago, one of my favorite painting students came to my studio and we built these brand new paint boxes. I build them from Plexiglass and wood, and they hold all the colors I usually mix for a full palette. Back when I was 27, I would strictly use only the colors I would mix, a full color wheel. Now, I find myself mixing more and more custom colors, weird neutral versions. I still find it very handy to have so many colors ready to go, and it speeds up the painting process dramatically. I like to think of it as a way to have the whole box of crayons ready for coloring.

The box is hinged to allow easy access to all the daubs of paint, and to allow a palette knife easy access.  I made this one exactly as large as would fit into my freezer, and contain my entire color wheel, including all the neutrals. Monet would roll over in his grave to hear I am using black in my plein air palette. At the end of each painting day, I put this box in a small freezer in the beer fridge in my garage, because it keeps the paint from drying. I also store all the brushes I am currently using in the freezer. This speeds up cleanup, because I don’t have to wash the brushes, they are simply ready to go when I need them next. I, of course, put them in a plastic bag to not make a mess in my freezer. I also put the palette box into a plastic bag, to aid in preventing drying, as well as stopping messy paint spreading everywhere. 

You might like to build one of these if you want to paint with the same palette, even with long breaks in between paint sessions, or if you want to paint quickly with changing light situations, or simply want to make your paint last a lot longer. I do not suggest this for anything but oil paint. Acrylic doesn’t freeze like oil paint, it gets ruined. It also will dry way too rapidly for mixing an entire color wheel.

I hope you found this interesting, or useful, and let me know if you want a set of plans to build your own paint palette box!

PayPal Artist Scam on Instagram

A couple weeks ago I got a DM from a stranger on Instagram who asked if I’m available to do a commissioned portrait of her granddaughter. No red flags here, because I get messages like this on a regular basis, and most of the time a brief exchange on Instagram leads to a sale, and we go from there. Social media is the best thing that ever happened for artists!

I replied with my standard explanation of how commissions work, and a list of available sizes and prices. She then told me she loves my artwork and asked for the oil painting to be on canvas. Everything sounded legit this far. Then the first red flag popped up in my head when she asked for the size to be 50×70cm. My customers normally use inches or feet, so I asked where she lives, to make sure it’s a country to which I can reliably mail a painting at a reasonable price. She tells me she lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Then she proceeds to send me four pictures of a girl, presumably her granddaughter (this is why you should think twice about posting pics of your kids on the Internet).

After a brief exchange, we agree on a size, and I tell her how much the painting will cost, and she asks when the artwork will be available. I answer her question, and then send her different payment options for the deposit, including a link to my PayPal page. She then asks for my PayPal e-mail and name, and says that she’ll send me payment right away, so I send her the link to my PayPal again. She says it isn’t going through, and sends me an image of this: ▶️ Play, but I can’t click on it (red flag #2). She asks for my PayPal e-mail and name a second time. This is when my instinct started putting the breaks on this whole deal, but I gave her the benefit of a doubt. So I clicked on the PayPal link that I had sent her, and it worked, and I ask her what the problem is on her end. She says she already showed me. I reply that the photo didn’t come through, and she asks for my PayPal e-mail and name again, sounding a bit demanding (red flag #3).

This is when I decided to Google ways that people can scam you if they have your PayPal e-mail and name, and turns out that this is a very popular way for scammers to get into your PayPal account. So I took a closer look at her profile, and noticed that her name was spelled Slyvia, a very unusual way to spell Sylvia (red flag #4), and her profile picture was of an older woman with a girl in her lap, and they are both wearing masks. She had 0 posts, no followers, but had followed 200+ accounts (red flag #5). There were several typos in her messages (red flag #6). My next move was to block her account, and report it to Instagram.

That’s six red flags, before I definitively decided to put an end to the conversation. Why did it take so many red flags? Well, what if this was a legit inquiry from an older person who is not familiar with Instagram and PayPal? I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Also, I didn’t want to miss out on a potential sale. I’m really glad that I decided to listen to my instinct. If I had been desperate for income, I think I may have been tempted to crawl further into that rabbit hole. The frustrating thing is that artists can be such an easy target, and scammers know this. Whenever I hear of an artist getting scammed, I feel very frustrated. We put our heart and soul into our work, and hope to make a living from doing so, and people who prey on artists are just the worst.

Stay vigilant out there!

When to Buy Art Directly from an Artist vs. through a Venue

My corner at Dos Manos Gallery in Anchorage, AK

Have you ever bought something on eBay using the “Buy it Now” feature? You might feel like you are paying more, but you don’t have to wait, and you don’t have to risk someone else buying the item.  Maybe the bids will price the item higher than the “Buy It Now” feature, and you’ll end up getting a bad deal. Buying artwork is very much the same way. I am often pulled aside at one of my art shows, and asked in a quiet way if it would be better to wait until the show comes down to purchase the art directly from me, that way I get a higher percentage of the overall price. My answer is always, “If you love it, and you want it, buy it now through the venue.”

When I hang artwork at a gallery, brewery or coffee shop, I am working with that venue as a partner. I want to be invited to have art shows there again, and I also want that business to succeed. Rent, employees, and other overhead costs are part of the reason I pay a commission to the “house”. They sell my art for me, so I don’t have to be there in person to sell it myself. Galleries would not be able to exist without their cut of the sale. Breweries and coffee shops have a pretty fine margin, and selling artwork helps supplement the high costs of paying employees and buying ingredients. Galleries curate artists, which may seem as easy as approaching one and asking to be represented, but there are actually a lot of artists competing for a limited amount of wall space. The galleries will represent the artists who sell more work, and reject the ones whose artwork stagnates. Please buy directly from the venue, it helps me get more space on the walls, and leads to more solo shows. As Dos Manos always says, “higher tides float all boats.”

The times to approach me to buy directly from me is if you see the piece on the Internet and want a more personal experience than buying it online. In that case, you can schedule a studio visit. Also, if you want a special piece made just for you, or if you saw a piece that has already sold at a venue and want a similar one, or if I am not currently showing anywhere and you want to buy artwork you previously saw at a venue. Don’t wait to ensure that I get a larger cut of the profits. While I do appreciate the sentiment, I prefer that you have instant gratification of owning that piece that caught your eye. I wouldn’t show my artwork at a venue that I didn’t think was a fair deal. If you wait, there is a chance the piece might sell to someone else.

The moment you are inspired to buy artwork is a special thing, if you wait until later you may not have that same feeling. Your wall will possibly stay unadorned, and it can become a constant thing on the back burner of your mind. Meanwhile, the piece of art sits in a cabinet unseen and waiting to find its final home. My goal as an artist is to see all my pieces find good homes, where they will be properly taken care of, and valued by the patron. When pieces leave the studio to good homes, that inspires me to make more art. When I bring home a lot of pieces at the end of an art show, I also consider not showing at that place again. So don’t delay, “Buy it Now,” you won’t regret it, and I will applaud your decisive decision to be a patron of my artwork! 

So, where can you currently buy my art in person? This blog post was written on March 23, 2023.

• Dos Manos Gallery
• Turnagain Brewing Co. until April 6th
• Alaska Cycle Chic starting April 7th, until May 4th
• My studio by appointment
• Arctic Comic Con May 6 & 7 at Dena’ina Convention Center
• Girdwood Forest Fair July 7, 8, 9

Cheers to original art, and to partnerships between artists, galleries and patrons! 

Check out the Paintings my Customers Commissioned for Christmas, 2022

It’s that time of year when I show you all the paintings my customers commissioned during the holiday season. This is definitely the busiest time for me in the studio, as people tend to order more custom paintings in time for Christmas, but each year I manage to complete every single one on time! That’s not an easy feat, considering that oil paint takes longer to dry than acrylic. Thank you to all who commissioned paintings this year, and in the past! It’s always great to work with you on these projects, as you share your personal stories with the artist, and trust me to capture those special moments in timeless paintings. So, without further ado, here are the 11 commissions I painted in the last couple months. I provided links in the captions for the ones that are available as prints at our Etsy shop.

20″x16″, oil on canvas. Prints available at our Etsy shop.

30″ x 24″, oil on canvas. Custom silhouette portraits available at our Etsy shop.

8″ x 10″, oil on panel

11″ x 14″, oil on panel

24″ x 12″, oil on panel

14″ x 11″, oil on panel. Prints are available at our Etsy shop.

10″ x 8″, oil on panel

10″ x 8″, oil on panel

10″ x 8″, oil on panel

10″ x 8″, oil on panel

8″ x 10″, oil on panel