Commissioning a Painting

A large part of Bradley Stevens’ work is devoted to commissioned paintings––portraits, landscapes and cityscapes, some of which are on a grand scale for public spaces.  With over thirty years’ experience of working on commission, his extensive roster of clients ranges from private individuals to corporations, universities, government agencies and the U.S. Capitol. When a client commissions a painting, they have a unique opportunity to interact with the artist and participate in the creative process.  A commissioned painting ideally matches the client’s desires with the artist’s inspiration:  It may be a luminous landscape to enhance a home, a professional portrait to honor an individual’s outstanding achievement, a cityscape to enliven a boardroom, or a family portrait to capture a moment in children’s lives. Stevens enjoys collaborating with his clients.  He values their input and is sensitive to their expectations.  Together, they explore the various ideas for a painting, and from there, Stevens crystallizes these ideas into a series of pencil sketches.  As he works out the elements of the composition, Stevens refines the sketches into preliminary charcoal drawings.  Once the client has chosen a drawing, he translates the final composition into an oil sketch.  Then the stage is set:  The canvas is stretched, and as Stevens puts brush to paint, an inspiration is transformed into an enduring work of art.

Please view the Portfolio for examples of Bradley’s commissioned paintings.

lipset-family-sketch

initial pencil sketch

lipset-drawing

preliminary drawing in charcoal and gouache

lipset-family

finished portrait, oil on linen canvas

meyer-drawing

preliminary drawing in charcoal and gouache

meyer-2

preliminary drawing transferred onto the canvas

meyer-early painting

oil painting in progress

meyer

finished painting, oil on linen canvas

mckeon drawing-b

preliminary drawing in charcoal and gouache, pose 1

mckeon drawing-c

preliminary drawing in charcoal and gouache, pose 2

mckeon drawing-d

preliminary drawing in charcoal and gouache, pose 3

mckeon

finished portrait, oil on linen canvas

mt-rainier-sunrise-pencil sketch 1

pencil sketch

mt-rainier-sunrise-preliminary drawing

preliminary drawing in charcoal and gouache

mt-rainier-sunrise

finished painting, oil on linen canvas

carlsen-boys-a

pencil sketch, pose 1

carlsen-boys-b

pencil sketch, pose 2

carlsen-boys-c

oil painting in progress

carlsen-boys

finished portrait, oil on linen canvas

springtime-in-lafayette-park-pencil sketch

pencil sketch

springtime-in-lafayette-park-oil-study

oil study

springtime-in-lafayette-park

finished painting, oil on linen canvas