Last year I painted a modern portrait of a geisha which ended up finding a new home fairly quickly. It was a bold piece, quite different from anything traditional, and I was pleased with how it turned out. I assumed that would be the end of it, but about a month later the couple who had bought it came back into the studio with something tucked under their arm.
They unrolled a fabric scroll to show me a traditional geisha image. It was delicate and detailed, everything you would expect from that style, but they explained that although they admired it, a hanging scroll did not quite suit their space. They asked if I would consider painting something similar for them instead.
Up to that point, I had been asked a few times about commissions, but they were usually of a very personal nature. People would ask for portraits of family members or pets who had passed away, and I always felt uneasy about taking those on. The responsibility of capturing someone important to another person, and doing it justice, felt like a level of pressure I was not entirely comfortable with. This, however, was different. There was no emotional weight attached in the same way, and the idea of trying something new appealed to me.
I agreed, but with a slightly open arrangement. I would create the work first, and we would not fix a price in advance. If they liked what I produced, they could make an offer. If they did not, there would be no obligation, and the paintings would simply stay in the studio. It felt like a straightforward and honest way to approach it.
Once I began looking into the subject properly, I realised quite quickly that one painting would not be enough to explore the style. The research led me through various references, compositions, and approaches, and I decided to produce two pieces instead. One would be a traditional portrait, focusing on the face and detail, and the other would show a full figure, allowing a bit more space to explore posture, clothing, and movement.
When both paintings were finished, I invited the couple back to the studio to have a look. There is always a moment of uncertainty at that stage, no matter how confident you feel in the work itself. You never quite know how it will be received. In this case, the reaction was better than I had expected. They spent time looking at both pieces, and in the end, to my surprise and genuine delight, they decided to take them both.
It was a satisfying experience for a number of reasons. It gave me the opportunity to step into a style I had not worked in before, without the pressure that had put me off commissions in the past. It also reinforced the idea that sometimes the most interesting work comes from simply being willing to try something unfamiliar and see where it leads.
