A commission

“Home of Bell Leadership”
9 x 12" watercolor vignette

I love it when I run across a customer who appreciates my style, and when they don’t ask me to “make it just a little bit tighter”. I can do tight, but I prefer not to, especially with houses. Architectural renderings, for the most part, do not excite me.

The house you see in the painting acts as headquarters for Bell Leadership Institute. Here was my process. First, lots of photos to decide the best view of the house; secondly, a wet base coat, and lastly, the calligraphic line treatment that pretty well distinguishes my paintings from those of someone else.

My customer’s wife and one of his colleagues approached when I was in between the base coat and the line treatment. Introductions were made, and they left, until the colleague came out five minutes later and asked me for my own personal safety, if I would move. “No way!” was what I felt like saying. Instead, I explained to her that moving would mean I’d have to start all over, that I take many more safety risks than what was presented here, that I carry pepper spray on my key chain, and that I’d be glad to sign a waiver. She got the point.

Below you see my first attempt. Not happy with it, I started over, deciding to make a vignette of the scene. The final painting will lend itself nicely to note cards, should the company decide to do them.


“214 West Cameron Avenue”
7 x 10" watercolor