Should I turn down the commission?

I received an email with a commission to do a painting of the family standard poodle.  Included with the email were 4 photos of the dog. I opened the email, and there was a dog with no eyes, just headlights …red eye would have been better!

Here are the reference photos:

I emailed back and asked if it would be possible to have photos with his eyes, since the personality of our “pets with paws” is in their eyes. The response was short and simple.

 ”Please use your best artistic judgment.  We trust you.  As to the eyes, color them brown as getting him to pose is quite a chore and his black body is somewhat difficult.”

The dilemma:

Do I turn down the commission? These happen to be friends who depend on me and my artistic judgment. Would I turn down the commission if they weren’t friends? Would you?

The decision:

Go for it. Do a little research on eyes of a poodle, and just paint. Trust your skill, and most of all, trust your love of dogs. Find their personality and show it.

 Meet Charlie

Charlie ©2009 Jacobson

  See more of my pet portraits here. If you are interested in commissioning me to do a painting of your pet partner check out the details here.

Tagged as: art paintings, dog art, dog photos, jackie jacobson, paintings, Pet Portraits, photography, poodle, Portraits, standard poodle