Where Does Time Go?

I had high hopes and good intentions of updating this blog on a daily basis but you know what they say about good intentions! (For those of you who don't know - the old saying is that the path to hell is paved with good intentions!)

Anyway, I suddenly find myself with three pet portrait commissions which is pretty unusual at this time of the year. Most people decide to have a portrait done for Christmas & think it can be ordered on December 18th for delivery before Christmas! I don't think most people know how long something like that can take. Just putting together a good sketch from some of the photos I'm given for references takes a big chunk of time not to mention the actual painting time. But, I understand that we live in an "instant" society where most people have come to expect getting what they want in the time it takes to go through the drive-through lane.

Along those same lines is the misconception that since an artist can whip out a painting in no time at all (in the mind of the potential client, that is), that it shouldn't cost much. The average person who doesn't usually buy original art or commission a special painting is sometimes horrified at the cost of a painting. These same people think nothing of spending hundreds of dollars on designer shoes and clothes or the other little things that cost in their everyday life.

But, I'm getting off track a bit here. I'm delighted at receiving the commissions but they come at a really busy time. My granddaughter is getting married in Maine at the end of this month plus we're doing some things around home and there are tomatoes in the garden just begging to be put to some good use! Thankfully, the people who have commissioned the portraits aren't in a huge rush. If they had been, I would have turned them down as I refuse to rush something so important. At least I've made a good start on the one portrait and I don't have everything I need from the other two yet so they won't even need to be started until I return from the wedding.

I know things always work out and I'm sure this won't be the exception. After all, what kind of grammy would I be to miss my oldest granddaughter's wedding?!