Art Commission for Your Home
Create an art work for a specific location in your household
A “commission” is an art project that a client requests the artist to do on their behalf. In the past it was common for the church to commission artwork and the themes were generally religious. The aristocracy commissioned artists to produce work to exhibit their wealth and appreciation for the arts. Art commissions are usually reserved for the wealthy patrons of the arts, or instituted for public projects. A commission can be whatever the client wishes to see the artist produce, (if the artist is agreeable to the request). It is the artist’s duty to produce an artwork that will please their patron or client.
For this project it will be the duty of the household to commission an artwork from the artist, who in this case will be a member of the household and a student in my art class.
I am asking that each of my students negotiate an art commission with any number of members living in the student’s household. This project is designed so that each student will create an art work that will fit a specific site in their home. In order to get a product that will best suit the house, there are three important topics to be decided amongst the members of the household; the size, the subject and the color scheme.
Steps to follow in creating an art commission:
For this project it will be the duty of the household to commission an artwork from the artist, who in this case will be a member of the household and a student in my art class.
I am asking that each of my students negotiate an art commission with any number of members living in the student’s household. This project is designed so that each student will create an art work that will fit a specific site in their home. In order to get a product that will best suit the house, there are three important topics to be decided amongst the members of the household; the size, the subject and the color scheme.
- Once the site of the artwork is determined, it is necessary to determine the size of the piece. It would be helpful to measure the proposed space and figure out the exact dimensions of the art work.
- Each room in a home might call for a different subject or theme, (a baby’s room would host a different painting than what you might want to see in a living room or kitchen). Choose amongst the household what the subject of the art work should be, if you cannot come to a decision on a specific subject, then try to determine whether it will be; a landscape, a portrait, or a still-life. Then try to imagine it as either a representational (recognizable images) or an abstract (non-recognizable) art work.
- An important step is to be sure that the colors in the artwork match the surrounding area where the art will live. It is common to create art that picks up on some of the existing colors in the room. A successful commission usually compliments the décor of the room.
Steps to follow in creating an art commission:
- Have a discussion with members of the household to determine the site and the subject of the proposed artwork. (I recommend that we choose to do a painting or drawing)
- Once the site has been determined, take a photograph of the space and include the surrounding décor so the artist will have examples of the colors and styles to incorporate. (We will also need a photograph for a, “before and after”, that we can post on our digital portfolios).
- Determine an exact size for the art work. (Please keep in mind that it should not be so large as to take up all the space in the classroom, and it should not be so complex that it cannot be finished in one week of class time) I recommend that a painting be no larger than 2 x 3 feet.
- Create a design for the proposed commission. It is important that before we begin painting, we have a sense of exactly how the completed artwork will look. This might require that we base the work on an existing image, or we create our own design by creating a drawing, or a collage of images. We must have an image to reference as we begin this project.
- Begin production of the art work.
- Place the finished work at the site and photograph it for the “after” image of the digital portfolio posting.