Last spring I received an opportunity that challenged me to the core! Steve and Judy Urbanczyk called to inquire about commissioning me to paint a 24 x 30 oil painting of their view of the West River to go over their mantel in their living room. They were telling me this painting would become a family heirloom, passed down through generations and treasured forever . I gulped. I had never painted that size before, and I had actually painted very little since my father, Lee Boynton, passed away in 2016.
I was surprised to hear from the Urbanczyks for this request. They had commissioned me to do a simple drawing of their view for their son’s wedding invitation 7 years before. It was a joy to work for them, but once I had delivered that job we had lost touch.
I felt the pressure rising within me when I was speaking with Mr. Urbanczyk. I had been going through an inner struggle around my art for sometime. Painting seemed to remind me I didn’t have my Dad anymore to ask for advice about my work. This request brought the loss home because my Dad had been very involved in helping me with the drawing for their wedding invitation. But letting grief overcome me was out of the question! I couldn’t say “No!” I had to accept this job for these wonderful people and do the very best I could.
I worked on this painting for 7 long weeks last summer. During that time, my Mom closed down the storage unit where we’d been storing the content of my Dad’s studio — everything to do with his art career — his art books, paintings, still life objects and the finest art supplies. My Dad only used the very finest art supplies and they were begging to be used!
I had a place in my house for the art books and oil paints, so they came home with me at the perfect time. Looking through my Dad’s books was a great comfort to me as they gave me a glimpse into my Dad’s artistic mind, creating a visual passageway between Monet’s waterlilies and Child Hassam’s shimmering ocean views. I felt a certain guidance through inspiration as I looked through the books, but little instruction on how to get there. I had no easy solutions, and knew my only option was to roll up my sleeves and dive right in.
I picked up my brush and started over many times. As I did, I found the best way through the painting process was to take small steps to reach obtainable goals, and to give myself room to make mistakes and work through them with grace and patience. Our inner monologues can either be helpful or hurtful during the painting process. I thought about how every artist in my father’s books must have gone through a similar struggle on their path to achieve greatness. I could see the steps I needed to take, while other steps remained unclear. I worked from photographs primarily, as well as small studies I did on the Urbanczyk’s property examining the view from different vantage points.
View of the Urbanczyk’s property. I started by simply looking. Looking as an artist requires seeing things from all vantage points, taking many photographs and combining the best elements of each one to tell a story.
The most challenging part was the sky, which dominated 70% of the composition. I needed to make up the sky, the sky could be what ever I wanted it to be. I would paint clouds in and sweep them away with my brush. Everyday the sky in my painting took on a different appearance, going from too cluttered to too still and quiet. I think painters have a tendency to oversee clouds, to paint them with too much outline, when clouds are soft nebulous things. I didn’t know what shapes my clouds were to take. When I felt stuck on this, I turned to my aunt Margaret for help.
My aunt, Margaret McWethy, is a very accomplished artist herself. She looked at my painting and pointed out a few simple things to make it work. I needed the clouds to move the eye into the painting and down through the trees into the foreground. I needed the foreground trees to be less of a contrast against the light sky to create a sense of balance with the boat house and the other foreground shapes. I needed to grab a ruler and make the horizon line exactly straight and consistent. I needed “air” in my shadows. I found that when she spoke, I knew exactly what she meant, and so did my painting. When I did the things she suggested, it seemed to really speak further to me about what it needed; the elements were falling into place as I put the finishing touches in the sky, the trees and the osprey nest.
I felt deeply gratified when I delivered the painting to my clients. They received it so well! Thank you Steve and Judy Urbanczyk for all your kindness and trust. Upon delivery Steve presented me the opportunity for a second commissioned painting! To be continued…
At this point I had all the elements in place - the sky, the trees, the boathouse, the boats in the distance - but I lacked cohesion between them all. I turned to my Aunt Margaret for help to bring the painting together.
The sky took on many different versions…
This is the finished painting. It felt good to complete this painting!