The past few weeks have been demanding. Or rather, they have challenged my creativity and my flexibility. I jump from one idea to the next, and as soon as I finish a project, the next one is already waiting. But the most interesting one was a painting that had been commissioned.
I was asked to create a painting as a birthday gift. Normally not a big deal for me, but not as simple as I first thought. The request was to create a piece that would eventually be gifted to someone else a commissioned artwork. Two conditions: no green, and it had to feel lively. Actually, three conditions it had to be a digital art print.
Fortunately, I know the recipient very well and already knew where the artwork would be placed. Since the room is very muted and calm, I knew that warm or bold colors could easily feel overwhelming. It didn’t need much, but creating harmony and making it fit the space was not easy.
Between studio and screen
First, I went to my studio and turned to my paints. Switching between materials is incredibly difficult. In the weeks before, I had been experimenting with oil and instantly fell in love with it. When I tried to go back to acrylics, it felt strange. Every brushstroke and every color resisted me. For some reason, none of my sketches pleased me. And swapping the brush for the Apple Pencil on top of that was the cherry on the chaos. After the first attempts went completely wrong, I mixed my own color palette of course, analog.
The challenge with digital art is simple: too many possibilities. Not just the functions or the ability to undo or redo steps something that is impossible in analog work. What’s on the canvas stays on the canvas. And then there’s the option to adjust saturation and warmth of colors individually. A blessing and a curse at the same time.
A compliment that stayed with me
“You have a good sense for colors and composition,” someone told me when the painting was unwrapped and hung on the empty wall it was meant for. I havn’t really been aware of that before, but I guess I must have it. In this case, it wasn’t easy, because I wanted to create a piece that wasn’t just gift-worthy and appealing to the recipient. I also wanted it to please his partner, since she will (hopefully) be looking at it for a long time.
I always thought that having a good sense of color was simply a requirement for creating good work, but maybe it’s not something everyone sees or has. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s something special. Colors have a huge significance in my life in the way I dress, in graphic design, and in my emotional world. Not a day goes by without me thinking about them. So in a way, it feels natural to me.
Satisfaction and a look ahead
In the end, I am very happy with the result. Switching from analog to digital and immediately creating something that feels right is not easy. Even in analog work, it usually takes three or four attempts until I’m satisfied with the motif, composition, and color palette. The advantage is that analog experiments don’t cost much in terms of materials.
Still, I won’t give up until I’ve mastered Adobe Fresco there is so much more to discover and learn. And digital prints are a relatively simple and affordable gift compared to drawings on paper or canvas.
Interested in having a custom artwork?
If you’re looking for a new piece for your living room or a unique gift idea, feel free to reach out. I’d love to create something for you.
