Kosta solo exhibition at Hilbert Museum - March 22-August 9, 25. Learn More
Commissions
Commissions are a collaborative endeavor and are most often created to capture a special memory, person, place, or moment in time, that resonates in a deeply personal manner with the client. These are bespoke images that are unique and one of a kind. Paintings allow us to affect the perspective, light, color, tone and texture, through the brush, to capture an interpretation, a particular feeling, that is difficult to capture in any other medium.The commission is a journey that the client and I take together, to capture an emotional connection to the image.
Samples of client commissions are provided below to help illustrate the journey from the initial concept or image to the final piece of art work that was created. At the bottom of the page, there is an
FAQ that provides responses to many of the most often asked questions regarding commission work.
Nude Seated on Bench (United States)
I painted ‘Nude Seated on Bench’ at an atelier studio in Covina, California where artists would often meet to pool their resources together so they could paint from a live model. While painting in a group can be somewhat impersonal, it was still an opportunity to meet with fellow artists to create fine art. I still enjoy this group practice…so different than painting alone in my studio or out en plein air.
In this painting, even though the actual subject was in a very impersonal location, a live model can provide inspiration to create a very personal moment of contemplation. Taking a static image and transforming it into a painting that creates a connection with the viewer is a challenge for any artist.
To achieve this connection I used the rich colors of the blanket on the bench and repeated this combination in the skin tones to create a feeling of warm emotion. Using a technique often employed by artists, I darkened the background to create additional contrast using cool tones behind the subject. Angular shapes in the background and the bench were emphasized to repeat the angular shape of the model’s hairstyle, again contrasting with the sinewy curves of the model. My effort as an artist was to transform an otherwise sterile studio pose into a composition of intrigue in the life a young woman. ‘Nude Seated on a Bench’ hangs in the personal collection of the artist.
After Boxing (United States)
The painting “After Boxing” is a portrait about unexpected vulnerability. The client, a businessman and German national named Herman, has lived in the United States for most of his adult life and had shown an interest in my art. His ancestry and strong character suggested this portrait needed something beyond the stereotypical outward appearance of a posed smile and assured stance.
I discovered that Herman has regular boxing sessions at a local gym in an adjacent working-class neighborhood. The physicality of the boxing sessions, he told me, was a form of meditation that calmed the mind and helped him improve physical and mental health. We discussed the possibility of using his boxing routine as the backdrop for the portrait. He agreed and we set up a time for me to join him at the boxing studio to take reference photos.
After some stretching, Herman entered the ring with his trainer where they warmed up before beginning to spar. It was mid-summer in southern California and the gym had no air conditioning. It was very hot. Sweat and humidity thickened the air. Shortly, both client and trainer were soaked in perspiration as they continued to spar, round after round. After about fifty minutes they quit. I was exhausted just watching.
Quickly reviewing the photos taken, I realized that ugly florescent overhead lights gave the boxing ring a sad hue and no angle suggested an interesting portrait composition. Up to that point it seemed that the photo session was for naught. Fortunately, I spied a small wooden window at the back of the gym and asked Herman, still sweating from his boxing, to stand next to the window and to rest for a couple minutes. I could tell how exhausted he was. The brilliant sunlight cast his face into dark shadow and it was then I realized this was a pose with power, insight, and evocative contrasts. I quickly took numerous shots from which I created a composite to use as a final portrait reference.
While not in the reference material, added related elements can enhance the visual narrative to reveal more about the life of the client. After several conversations with Herman, I learned that he had been single for some time and that he appreciated the company of others for the richness that friendships can bring to one’s life. In acknowledgement of this bit of personal history, I added a solitary boxing glove on the floor pointing at the subject, palm up, suggesting the feelings one can experience when being alone. In another symbolic gesture, the bright light on one side of the subject’s face casts the other side in darkness. Using techniques of the 17th century Dutch artist Rembrandt Van Rijn, I accentuated this darkness suggesting that just as light reveals what is known, there often remains a part of us hidden in darkness only to be revealed over time to those who take the time to get to know us. “After Boxing” tells the story of struggle, resolve and ultimately acceptance and peace. It hangs in the client’s residence in Claremont, California.
Jeanne (United States)
Jeanne and her husband John were landscape architectural clients for whom I designed a rather elaborate garden with a variety of exterior living spaces. Over the time of constructing the extensive project, the Maxwell’s also attended a solo art opening where I was exhibiting a number of paintings and where the clients acquired their first of several Kosta art pieces.
As the clients were avid art collectors, they became interested in possibly collecting additional Kosta works and so I asked if they might be interested in posing for a photo session as potential subjects. They agreed. I timed the photo-shoot for late afternoon so the angle of the sun would cast shadows that would be similar to those captured in the background of some unrelated but compelling architectural reference material I had previously taken. When the time came for the shoot, I asked Jeannie to sit on a small stool that would approximate the height of her sitting on the steps in front of the reference building. We also took a variety of other photos of both Jeanne and John together as backup but ultimately we decided to just create a solo portrait of Jeanne.
Back in my studio I evaluated my material and made numerous adjustments combining different elements to see what was most interesting. In the final composition, I placed the client on the exterior steps of a historical building and adjusted shadows as required in addition to making other modifications and symbolic changes to add meaning. Using the techniques of linear perspective used by Leonardo Da Vinci in his fresco The Last Supper, I placed Jeanne so that the structural vanishing point in the painting would direct the viewer to the subject’s heart and so the dark background of the doors would frame the subject’s head with backlight reflections of her hair forming the slightest hint of a halo.
As mentioned, I like to add relevant symbolism to my paintings to enrich the subject. The meaning of the symbolic elements in Jeanne suggests the eternal struggle between light and dark and the aspiration toward a life of goodness. In the final composition, the client sits on the steps of an old building and stares into the distance with a contemplative expression toward some unknown out of the frame of the painting. Her hair reflects the sunlight as she smokes a cigarette, hands clasped as though they could be in prayer. The completed painting ‘Jeanne’ hangs in the client’s home in Palm Desert, California.