I'll be sharing an in-depth look at a recent art commission through a series of blog posts, detailing each stage of the project step-by-step. Each post will offer a closer look into the work and insights from the experience.
I would be delighted to have you follow along as I create and share each blog post!
Richard
Blog Post 1: The Commission and the Brief
Blog Post 2: The Medium, Copper a Living Metal
Blog Post 3: The Process and Artistic Collaboration
Blog Post 4: Key Lessons Learned
The Commission and the Brief
Some time back I was contacted by a potential client who had the vision to recreate a Viking history, specifically focused on the invasion of Wexford, Ireland. It was one of those projects that stirred something inside of me, a challenge to capture the turbulent energy, ancient mythos, and rich texture of Viking culture onto my main art medium, copper, a material as storied and resilient as the subject itself.
The client (whose family was of Norwegian descent) had the idea to to convey the intensity and impact of the Viking presence in Wexford, from many brain storming sessions it became clear that the works should convey the initial approach on their longships to the climactic scenes of their encampment along the shore. Therefore, I wanted to capture the invaders' rugged strength and unyielding determination and, equally, the fierce resilience of the local Irish people. Every image I imagined was filled with motion: waves lapping against longboats, warriors with axes raised, the sheer defiance in their eyes. The Irish local people sparked the thought of Brain Boru.
So all of the above was to be summarised as follows:
Recreate onto three large panels (the panels where to be installed onto a large heating cover)
Panel one: Should display a Viking theme use mythology and symbols.
Panel two: Should represent the County of Wexford and Isle of Ireland, depict Brain Boru and other images that relate to Wexford.
Panel three: Should represent a Tree of Life.
The client confirmed and approved this; my challenge now was figuring out how to transfer the images onto metal and indeed how to develop the detailed drawings.
In the coming weeks, I’ll share Blog Post 2, where I’ll discuss The Copper Medium.
