A Look Inside a Recent Commission (Process + Meaning)

Why it works:
Real examples build trust and desire.

How to write it:

• Share the story behind the piece

• Include early sketches, color tests, and final work

• Highlight how personal details were woven in

Soft CTA:
“This is the kind of care I bring to every commissioned piece.”

Commission Chronicles: Inside a Custom Triptych Painting (The Story of a Family Heirloom in the Making)

What is a custom triptych painting commission?

A custom triptych painting is a three-panel artwork created specifically for a client’s space, story, and vision. Each panel is connected visually and emotionally, often used to represent family members, meaningful places, or shared experiences while still functioning as one unified piece.

Okay… real talk — my commission clients are honestly some of the coolest people I get to work with.

This particular project is a large custom three-panel oil painting (a triptych) created for a family of five — two parents, three daughters, and their very loved pup 💛

And the heart of this piece? Family.

Like so many meaningful commissions, this artwork began with something deeply personal: a desire to create a lasting visual representation of connection, love, and shared story inside their home.

The idea behind the triptych: family, place, and connection

Her vision was a three-panel painting where each section represented:

• Herself

• Her husband

• Their children

But what made this concept especially beautiful was the layer of meaning underneath it.

Each family member was born near a different major body of water — so she asked if each panel could subtly reference those waterways while still feeling connected as one flowing, unified composition.

Not separate pieces.

One continuous story.

Honestly… isn’t that such a beautiful concept?

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

What happens at the beginning of a custom art commission?

One of my favorite parts of the commission process is translating something intangible — memories, relationships, emotion — into something visual and lasting.

Some clients come in with a very clear vision. Others begin with just a feeling:

• calm

• warmth

• connection

• softness

• joy

And truthfully, that is always enough to begin.

From there, the work becomes a collaboration.

I ask questions about:

• color preferences

• emotional tone

• movement and energy

• texture and atmosphere

• the feeling they want the room to hold

Because art isn’t just about what it looks like — it’s about what it feels like to live with.

The creative process: sketching the story

For this commission, our guiding direction became:

• loose, expressive brushwork

• soft, calming color palette

• seamless flow between panels

• organic movement inspired by water and connection

From there, I moved into the sketching phase — pages of drawing, adjusting, refining, and letting the composition slowly reveal itself.

The sketches shown in this series represent one continuous composition. In the final painting, the design will be thoughtfully divided across three panels so the artwork flows seamlessly from one to the next.

This is where the piece really starts to breathe.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Designing art in real spaces (why scale matters so much)

One of the most important parts of any commission is understanding how the artwork lives in a home.

During our follow-up process, we explored scale and placement directly in the client’s space.

We considered:

• wall dimensions

• lighting throughout the day

• surrounding furniture

• how the artwork would feel in the room

And we used simple tools like painter’s tape and paper templates to visualize size and presence on the wall.

Originally, the piece was imagined smaller and more rectangular.

But once we saw it in context, something shifted.

It needed more space to breathe.
More presence.
More expansion.

This is one of my favorite parts of commissions — when the artwork itself starts telling us what it wants to become.

Why large-scale painting feels different

This piece has officially taken over my studio in the best possible way.

I won’t lie — working at this scale has been both exciting and challenging. I realized recently that I haven’t painted this large since art school… which means it’s been over a decade since I’ve worked on something with this level of scale and complexity.

And honestly?

I’m just as in love with it as I was back then.

There’s something incredibly immersive about large-scale painting. You stop focusing on tiny details and instead start thinking about:

• movement

• rhythm

• atmosphere

• emotional presence

It becomes less like decorating a surface and more like building an environment someone can step into.

Watching the painting come to life

Right now, the layers are building slowly in the studio.

The panels are starting to speak to each other.
The composition is gaining depth and movement.
And the emotional tone the client envisioned — calm, connected, flowing — is starting to emerge.

This is the part of commissions I love most: the in-between stage where everything is still forming, but the soul of the piece is already there.

Why custom artwork becomes heirloom art

One of the most meaningful parts of this process is knowing where the artwork will live.

This is not just decoration.

This is a future heirloom.

A piece that will:

• live in a family home for decades

• hold personal memory and meaning

• grow with the family over time

• potentially be passed down to future generations

There’s something incredibly powerful about that — creating artwork that becomes part of a family’s ongoing story.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Final thoughts: why commissions matter

At its core, this commission — like all commissions — is about collaboration, trust, and storytelling.

It’s about taking something invisible (memory, love, connection) and turning it into something physical that can live in a space every day.

And I never take that lightly.

Interested in a custom painting commission?

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to create a custom piece for your home — whether abstract, floral, or deeply symbolic — I would truly love to hear from you.

Half the joy of this process is dreaming it up together.

More soon from the studio,
Ashley