Commission Stories

Original paintings created around meaningful places, personal histories and thoughtfully designed spaces.

Every commission begins differently. Some begin with a landscape that carries personal meaning. Others begin with a particular wall, architectural setting or memory. These stories offer a closer look at how individual ideas are developed into original palette-knife paintings.

Commission a Painting

Narrative Landscape Commission

Carried by the Trade Winds & Hula at Sunset

48 × 72 inches & 30 × 40 inches· Oil on canvas · Kauaʻi-inspired private commission

A monumental narrative landscape bringing together voyaging, human presence, moving water and a deeply personal connection to place.

An impressionist painting of two men on a boat with a large sail, surrounded by water with other sailboats in the distance, under a bright sky.
A woman standing next to a colorful acrylic painting of a boat with people on the beach, in an art store with framed samples of different molding styles on the wall.
A woman with long hair, wearing a dress made of large white flowers, standing on a beach during sunset, surrounded by palm trees and tropical flowers.
Interior of an art gallery with framed paintings and sample color frames on the wall. There are three standing paintings in the foreground, showing tropical scenes, people on the beach with sailboats, and a woman with flowers. A woman with short dark hair and a white shirt is standing and smiling.
A painting of people on a small boat in the water, with one person rowing and others sitting or lying down, under a yellow umbrella, with blue waves, and a background of a cloudy sky.

The commission began with conversations, historical imagery and personal reference material. Rather than reproduce a single photograph, I brought these elements together in an original composition built around movement, companionship and place.

A monumental cream sail rises above an outrigger canoe carrying figures, provisions and island fruit. Beyond it, the mountains of Kauaʻi emerge through atmospheric color, while distant sails and shifting water create a sense of movement across the Pacific.

The companion painting, Hula at Sunset, adds a more intimate note to the story. The dancer is a loose interpretation of my collector’s wife, incorporated not as a formal portrait but as a personal presence within the landscape.

One of the greatest artistic challenges was incorporating substantial human figures while allowing the landscape to remain dominant. Every element was painted with palette knives in thick, expressive layers of oil. Up close, the figures dissolve into abstract passages of color and texture. From across the room, they resolve into deeply inhabited scenes.

Earthy ochres, walnut browns and warm cream are balanced by mineral blue, ultramarine, turquoise and reflected color in the water. Together, the paintings hold both the scale of the landscape and the intimacy of a personal story.

This commission opened an exciting new direction within my work: narrative landscape paintings that combine meaningful places, human presence, movement and memory while remaining unmistakably rooted in my sculptural palette-knife style.

Pebble Beach Light

This commission began with a photograph of my collector’s office and a conversation about what the space needed. We initially explored a Turnberry-inspired golf landscape, then pivoted toward Pebble Beach’s iconic 7th Hole, which shared the atmospheric character, coastal drama, and tonal palette we were looking for.

The finished 30 Ă— 48 inch painting was created specifically for the room, with scale, cabinetry, lighting, and surrounding materials all considered as part of the process. Warm earth tones, mineral blues, sculptural grasses, and breaking Pacific light were built entirely with palette knives in layered oil paint.

Rather than reproduce the course literally, I interpreted the landscape through my own visual language, emphasizing atmosphere, movement, texture, and the emotional character of the place.

The result is a highly personal landscape commission designed not only around a meaningful location, but around the architecture and feeling of the collector’s home.

Sketches and notes of a color palette inspired by Pebble Beach, California, with color swatches labeled Warm Ivory, Pale Slate, Griege, Weathered Blue Gray, Naples-Y, Coral, Muted Olive, Pale Taupe, and a comparison piece. Handwritten notes describe the palette as soft, neutral, and natural, influenced by coastal scenery, clouds, and earth tones.
An abstract landscape painting on a canvas, featuring textured, sweeping brushstrokes with a horizon line separating a cloudy sky from a dark, rugged terrain, set outdoors with trees and gravel.
Living room with a beige sofa, dark green pillows, a potted plant, a white table lamp, a wooden desk, two tall windows with white trim, a large landscape painting, dark built-in shelves with framed photos, and a black and white striped rug.

Commission a Meaningful Place

I accept a limited number of custom oil painting commissions inspired by meaningful landscapes, journeys and personal stories. Each commission is developed collaboratively and painted entirely by hand in my California studio.

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