During my visit to Hilton Head with my friend Michelle, she asked if I’d consider creating artwork for her new condo. We discussed a few modest pieces—something reflective of the surroundings, something familiar. I planned on coming back and painting on location. Then she pointed to the wall above her couch. Hmm. Does that call for a 3 related pieces, an arrangement, two larger pieces?
That wall was enormous. A few days of discussion and we decided it needed one large piece. She wanted one large, central painting. A statement. Personal. Bold.
Back in the studio, I started with studies pulled from our time on the island: shifting tides, pelicans, the view from the deck. But nothing clicked. The early attempts felt too literal, too tied to my way of seeing landscapes. So I changed my approach.
I prepped the largest linen I had ever worked with. It needed two easels to secure the painting surface.
At first I fought what all artists doing commissions fight...how to please the client. That makes us tighten up and loose our passion. The scale demanded looseness, and instead of fighting that, I leaned in.
I committed to letting go. Less precision. Fewer edges. More movement. Vivid color. Paint by feel not technique. What surprised me was how much I enjoyed it once I got the painting stopped being a problem to solve and became something physical—gesture, motion, rhythm.
Alongside that piece, other works began to surface more naturally.
The dunes in the distance caught me during late afternoon light—when the sun dropped low and the sand seemed to glow from within. That painting worked almost immediately. It felt resolved in a way that doesn’t happen often.
I also found myself pulled toward details I don’t usually chase: magnolias along our walks, not for the blooms but for the dense greens, golds, and reds in the leaves. I painted one directly on the rough side of gessoed masonite, forcing myself away from detail and into texture. The surface alone changed how I worked—and I loved it.
This part of the process wasn’t about outcome or cohesion yet. It was about permission. To loosen my grip. To follow what worked. To let the work lead instead of insisting it follow a plan.
