commission sketches

I am often asked how long it takes me to make a typical piece of art, and I usually answer with something like, "Well, it's really hard to track that, actually..."

I've been working on this commissioned piece of artwork for some time now - first it was the basic idea in my head, then the time meeting with the client, collecting photos from her, measuring the wall space where it would go & taking some photos of my own in her backyard.

Part of the process has been to sketch several animals that have lived with her over the years, getting the right photos of those animals has been another part of the process.

And then finally sketches of birds that have shared the space...

For the smaller birds, I already have plenty of sketches, but then putting them all together in a composition with the photos will be another part of the process...

It's always one step at a time, and it has to fit in with everything else I'm doing - somehow I've never had the time to keep track of how much time it all takes.