Maple Lane Dairy Commission

 

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This client’s father was a milkman for Maple Lane Dairy in the 50’s. There were old photos of his horse and wagon and of him in uniform. From talking to the client I found out that he delivered to his own house on Buck’s Hill in Waterloo (only locals  of my age would remember where that is). So I found out where he lived and painted the street scene viewed from his house. When I placed the horse and wagon in the picture I remembered to lean the horse forward to take up the drag of the wagon since it was on a steep hill. Many of these commissions require a bit of detective work to make them more personal to the client. This painting was done in 1991.

 

 

Child’s commission

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An elderly client commissioned me to paint the family farm. The farm didn’t look like this anymore ,but he gave me a number of old photos to work from. I pieced together the images that were taken from different angles through the years past. I came across this family in the background of one of the images and took a chance and added them to the painting. The painting was a success and just what he remembered and more than they expected because the baby turned out to be the gentleman who commissioned the painting. I really love the challenge to evoke memories and emotions that resonate with the client like this.