I hate to say it, but sometimes it really is all about size.  I recently heard from Susan Eley, my gallerist in New York.  She had been contacted by a client who wanted a 60″x60″ painting and they loved my work.  Since I work in encaustic, 60×60 is a really big size. For all of my acrylic and oil painter friends out there, it’s kinda like asking you to paint a 10’x10′. It’s a daunting task.  And they didn’t want to commission anything.

This situation pushes two of my buttons.  One being the people pleaser button, I really would love to help Susan make the sale. Obviously I have a dog in the fight as well, since it would be a lucrative sale for me.  I suggested four 24″x24″ or four 30″x30″ panels that could be hung together for the effect of a larger painting, and I have several paintings in those sizes the client could chose from. Plus I think that groupings like that are a sophisticated approach to hanging and seeing art.  Susan suggestedtwo 24″x60″ paintings, which happen to be my favorite size to paint right now and would be a welcome challenge for me to essential think of them as pairs. Client says no go.  They want one piece. Here’s where button number two gets pushed.

I have a hard time letting go of a missed opportunity. Some situations just don’t work. I can’t feasibly paint a 60″x60″ painting and ship it across the country and hope that the client likes it. It’s not a typical size for me and it’s too far outside of what I normally do. So I’ll keep painting, doing what I do and hope that the next opportunity that comes along will call for 24″x24″ paintings, lots of them.

Advertisement