Advice wanted. My friend has requested two paintings from me, subject being their summer cottage on an island. For one of them I thought of painting a sunset and the island, and made a quick and rough study about it before going full size.
I tried to use the sky from Bill Alexanders painting Sunset Seascape (one of ny favourites). I placed the sunset and the island roughly on rules of thirds. But I'm not too keen of this setup, the sunset is taking the spotlight, and the island itself is kinda left in the shadow. Also the island is really small like this, I feel like that should be the focus. Or maybe I should have the island way closer?
I was thinking maybe to instead do a portrait with a blue sky, so I can paint the island bigger with more details. Any opinions?
Yes, having the island closer and more towards the front/center will give it more focus. I imagine its hard when you need to paint something and don't want to disappoint. Perhaps ask your friend for reference photos? Or do another a few more studies then ask them which option they like best before doing the bigger one.
Yes, I already got a bunch of reference photos, so that's sorted out. I think it's a good idea to make a few more studies, and ask which he likes the most! Also asking about colours might help. Thank you for your input!
Thats right, if you don't have guidelines and boundaries you could churn out piles of work and be happy with none of it. It's difficult to envisage what's inside someone else's head, I've just had to deal with the same issue myself. Its a nice thing you are doing for your friend but it should be enjoyable for you too, not a headache. Good luck.
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You could ask your friend for more guidance on what they would like to see in the paintings, also ask about colours coz they might want the paintings to complement their home decor. Hope that helps.