Memorable Moments in Print: Bespoke Havana Commission to Celebrate a Trip of a Lifetime

Buying a piece of art is a very personal process. You may have fallen in love with an artist’s style but have something particular in mind that they haven’t shown on their website. That’s where commissions come in!

Commissioning a piece of art (in my case a bespoke Lino print) is a great way to get EXACTLY what you want. It costs a little more but nobody else will have it and you will be able to chat directly with the artist (me - a real human) about what you’re looking for in as much detail as you have nailed down.

Here’s how it worked with my client, Raymond…

The Brief

Raymond came to me with some fabulous photos from his once in a lifetime cruise around the Caribbean and Cuba. He fell in love with the mix of old and new in Havana and wanted to celebrate it in a bespoke print.

He saved some currency and wants this mounted in the centre so this was incorporate into the design.

Raymond wanted to be part of the process so I sent him regular photos showing hime the different stages. He made choice about the layout, given a few options and was keen for me to include colour through a watercolour background (he’d seen some of my previous work in this style).

The Process

All of my prints begin their lives as sketches in my sketchbook. The difference with commissions is that these sketches grow from the conversation that I have with my client and any reference photos they might send me. In this case, Raymond sent me some photos from his trip to Havana and I did addition research online to supplement my understanding of the place he enjoyed visiting so much. It really helps to chat face to face on on a phone call so that I can get the full impression of what this piece means to you and ask enough questions to get to the details of what you want.

After hours of sketching (it’s worth it to get everything right) I transferred each small element onto tracing paper and moved them around on the mock background that I had made. This way, I could get a realistic impression of how the final piece would come out. From this, I got approval from Raymond (who loved it) and set to work carving each of the 7 blocks.

There were some really lovely architectural details to carve that were pretty fiddly so this part took a significant amount of time. People who I chat to at exhibitions and markets often ask how long it takes to carve a Lino block and the honest answer is that it varies. It depends on the size, how intricate the design in and how many tweaks need to be made after testing. The first carve is rarely the only one. There are always adjustments to be made.

With the blocks ready, I prepped the background on the paper. Knowing that there can be printing errors, I prepared more than one background and referred to my composition sketch for the placement. Below is a photo of the finished print with the currency installed in the centre.

Once finished, Raymond chose to have me frame his work ready to hang.

The Review

“I have commissioned two pieces of work recently. The work was outstanding. Very satisfied”

If you like the sound of this and want to find out more then head to my commissions page for full details or book a free call here.