Inside An Original

No. 254: "Seven Dogs, Two People" by Tom Wills, July 2014.

I often ask potential customers to "Consider An Original."
An original starts with a question: "Can you do this?"
Sometimes I respond with a simple sketch, via email.
That's what led to this project, which I call "Seven Dogs, Two People" (No. 254).

From concept to reality.

"Imagine our surprise when I opened the  UPS delivery and found this wonderful drawing; you managed to capture our furry children beautifully, and the warm memories began flowing, as well as the tears:

As you well may imagine, we love and have loved each and every one of them so very much:  what a terrific way to have them forever: Thank you for all your hard work and making such a great memory for us;

We must also thank our daughter for her part in all of this."

 
The idea was to surround a woman's parents with all of the dogs they have loved in their lives together. She lives in California, and mom and dad are in Pennsylvania.
She found me by word of mouth from friends.
I was emailed individual snapshots of the pups, and pictures of the couple. Putting them all together in the present came down to me.

Some of the dog pictures were good, some not-so-good, but all cute. The customer, upon seeing the proposal sketch, wanted one dog moved -- not a problem.

I did not try to frame the couple with canines.  Instead the dogs are in the foreground, and are scaled that way, with the people beaming behind them. The man is pretty tall, but the paper is only so big, so he lost a few inches.

The white dog on the right is actually a composite drawing based upon three photos. I kept the head tilt from the worst image (cute factor), and built the face and fur from the better ones.

Dogs done first!

The dog next to the mom involved a lot of highlighting, contrasting and magnification on a laptop screen to bring out details. I think I got them right, or at least very close.

The other five dogs were a little more straightforward -- and a lot more hairy. Each dog took two days, and some tinkering later.

I emailed progress reports and pictures to the customer, seeking input on anything that seemed off. I also wanted her to know that I was at work, taking the job seriously.

It was done after nearly four weeks, put together on mornings off, rainy weekends -- whenever I could get an hour or so at the drawing table.  Two final photos were emailed -- one with a ruler to show her the size.

The response was both gratifying and instructive:

"What a delightful way to enjoy my Saturday. Frankly, I am as excited about how you captured my folks as I am the pooches. What a wonderful sketch. I think that they will love it. Bo-bo is indeed tough only as I had sent you a picture when he was a puppy and then one the month before he passed. So that's quite the span you were looking to converge. Nicely done."

And, she was right: "Does (dad's) face look a little light? (I think I am overthinking it as it was his birthday this week.")

It's not that the face was too light, but the mouth and chin were too dark.  I hadn't seen this until she pointed it out.  So I lightened and softened him a bit, and tinkered with cheekbones and eyebrows -- and then sent back the result, which is the final picture at the top.

"I showed a colleague who has never met my parents and she commented that I look like both my folks, which I do, so I think you captured them really well."

I have created such composite images for others, have preserved family memories out of torn and faded photos, and even done portraits for funerals. The possibilities are limited only to what we can think up.

To Consider an Original:
Tom Wills Productions
160 Laura Lane
Cortland, OH   44410

hankbonesman@embarqmail.com
willstom01@gmail.com

(330) 984-8376

A general pricing guide is available at the top of this web site. Or here:  http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/2013/09/order-original-no-216-ten.html

No. 255: Generations

No. 255, "Generations" by Tom Wills, July 2014

I couldn't wait to show you this one, five months early.
This is Janet Armistead, my grandson Anthony's great-grandmother.
And this is, perhaps, the sweetest picture.
Ever.

My son-in-law Keith Armistead snapped this moment on his phone-camera, and sent it to me to draw for Janet's birthday.
That's in December.
But I had the time now, so she gets the picture now.

The photo was a little dark and fuzzy, so the drawing is a little sketchy.
I think, in this case, rough details work.
Life should have some bumps and dents.
That's what makes it real.

I can imagine her reading Elmo's tale, and I can hear Anthony's little warble-snort-squeek-giggle.
Wonder how she kept him still enough for this moment?
His hand is always in his mouth.
The feet are always im motion.

This is a special drawing.
For two families, really.
There are a lot of years between Janet and Anthony.
But not in this moment.

Order An Original

"Ten" (No. 216) by Tom Wills, September 2013; fourth drawing for a repeat customer.

More than 240 original works of art have been created and distributed by Tom Wills Productions since 2009. They are on display in family homes in several states, and Mahoning Valley businesses and charitable organizations.
Each piece is an individual, and each receives the same level of care. I am proud of my work and enjoy interacting with all of my customers -- some of whom are now repeat customers.

Little Sailor Boys.  From a family photo, for Christmas 2013.

(Click on all images to enlarge)

I'm not a full-time artist. My full-time job is at a daily newspaper. Tom Wills Productions started simple, drawing for friends and family.  Over time my reach has broadened and I can see that my work has improved. They say practice makes perfect. Well, I don't know about perfect.  As for practice, I am now doing about three illustrations each month.

Most people order pet drawings, with the majority being dogs.

 This is what I enjoy, and hope to turn into more than a part-time gig.

Same customer!

But I'm always uncomfortable taking about money with friends and associates. All of us are managing tight finances these days, and I try to keep prices reasonable here. Mostly you are paying for my time, with the frames and mats being the additional costs.

Still, it's not good business to just throw figures out there, giving one person a better deal than another. So finally I have decided to offer a pricing guide.  The list is followed by several questions a buyer might have, and provides examples of what some customers have received for their money.
 

Thank you for considering a Tom Wills Production.

hankbonesman@embarqmail.com

willstom01@gmail.com

(330) 984-8376

160 Laura Lane

Cortland, Ohio   44410

TOM WILLS PRODUCTIONS

2014 PRICE LIST
Half-payment, up front.  Cash or check. Installment payments can be arranged.

Christmas orders should be in by Thanksgiving

Email hankbonesman@embarqmail.com or willstom01@gmail.com for additional information

Small, framed

SMALL = 8" x 10" to 12" x 16" (approx.)

Unframed: $140

Repurposed frame: $160 ($170 with mat)

New frame: $180 ($190 with mat)

Composite drawing, unframed, but ready to frame.

Medium, framed

MEDIUM = 16" x 20" to 18" x 22" (approx.)

Unframed: $160

Repurposed frame: $180 ($190 with mat)

New frame: $200 ($220 with mat)

Large frame with mat, picture not yet sealed

Large frame with one-layer mat

Large frame, two-layer mat

LARGE = 20" x 24" to 24' x 28" (approx.)

Unframed: $180

Repurposed frame: $200 ($220 with mat)

New frame: $240 ($260 with mat)

Very large composite of five family members, framed

Very large composite of five dogs, framed

VERY LARGE = 26" x 32" and above

Unframed: $300

Repurposed frame: $320 ($330 with mat)

New frame: $350  ($370 with mat)

SEVENTEEN THINGS TO KNOW:

1. What am I buying?
A signed and numbered original piece of art, sprayed with a fixative, permanently sealed on the back with black heavy cardboard, with a Tom Wills Production card affixed.  Wired or screw hooks, ready to hang.

2. What is the medium?
Pencil on poster board.
(Watercolor paintings upon request with individual pricing).

Pencil on poster board, unframed

3. How long does it take?
Three to four weeks.  It can be done quicker, but a rush job can mean a rushed result.

4. What will you need?
A good, clear photograph. Although I have restored images from some very poor photos.

Restored image from damaged photos

5. Will you wheel and deal in trades for other stuff?
Not generally. I already hoard too much stuff.  But if you have some amazing piece of audio equipment or a vast record collection, we'll talk.  As in, reel to reel.


6. How do you do it?
Dark to light, faces first. Analog, manual and right-handed. Some magnification is involved. It's called my Photomorphic Process and you can read more about it here. http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/2011/08/photomorphic-process.html

7. How much lead time do you need for the holidays?
Order by Thanksgiving for delivery by Dec. 25. Later orders may require a later delivery date.

Order now for the holidays!

8. How much lead time do you need for any other time of the year?
Three weeks is good, depending upon demand. Other customers may be ahead of you.

9. What's it cost?
Above is the general guide. An illustration with six to 10 people, for example, could be slightly more due to time required, and difficulty.

Repurposed frame, solid oak, very heavy.

10. What's a 'repurposed' frame?
Used. Recycled. Refurbished. These frames are wood and glass, some with and some without mattes. They are not junk frames. They will save you a substantial sum of money, $40 to $50. New frames are expensive. I deal in both.

11. What's a mat?
A mat is one or more layers of colored cardboard, cut around the drawing and inside of the frame, to create an accent and a buffer between the picture and the frame. These also hold the picture flat.  Custom cut mattes will add cost; a repurposed mat is free.

Mat before framing 

12. What's a 'composite' drawing?
A drawing that is made of several different photos, but made to look like one natural picture. A blended picture, fiction.

13. How do you ship?
Shipping must be unframed. Shipping will be in a UPS (the brown trucks!) sturdy triangle tube and I will pay the shipping out of the project cost.  Generally it's reasonable and results have been good with UPS. Others have failed me.

14. Why won't you ship a framed work?
Because the glass will crack or break. Guaranteed, no matter how much bubble wrap, and no matter which parcel service does the shipping. The glass is a problem because their handling is a problem.  Just because it's marked 'fragile' doesn't mean it will receive proper handling. This way, no one gets disappointed.  Been there, done that.

Medium, framed, double mat

15. What about local pickup and delivery?
I'll deliver in Trumbull or Mahoning counties, or you can come pick it up in Cortland, Ohio. 330-984-8376. Hope you like dogs.

16. Is there any guarantee?
I guarantee that we'll both be happy with the final result.  Also, should any work that I have framed slip or get wavy, I will fix it.  It might require a different frame or mat, however.

17. Do you hug your customers?
Handshakes, generally.  But sometimes hugs happen. And tears.

No. 253: Every Picture Tells A Story

"Wood/Stewart" by Tom Wills, June 2014.

This is a story about pieces fitting together, though imprecisely. It's about stripes, sequins and scarves too.

Ronnie Wood, left, and Rod Stewart made wonderfully imprecise music together between 1970 and 1975, when The Faces quit and Wood became a Rolling Stone. The Wood/Stewart music was jangly, a nice mix of acoustic and electric, sweet and salty, deft and heavy. It was also funny and occasionally filthy, for the early 1970s. ("Silicone Grown.")

A splendid time is being had.

Think of Rod Stewart's greatest albums, "Every Picture Tells A Story" and "Never A Dull Moment." That guitar on "Maggie Mae" is Ronnie. These were cut alongside Faces slabs such as "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse," "Long Player" and "Ooh La La."
And we've all memorized "Stay With Me" and its opening riff.

The Faces. Note two cover versions of "Small Faces"

"In the morning
Don't say you love me
'Cause I'll only kick you out of the door
I know your name is Rita
'Cause your perfume smelling sweeter
Since when I saw you down on the floor."

Same band, basically. Two covers of "Rod Stewart Album"

A very happy, sloppy band -- with extra credit to Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and the late Ronnie Lane. Great stuff, and hard to find on vinyl nowadays.
In the picture, Ronnie and Rod are probably leaning on each other so that they don't both fall to the stage. The band is shown imbibing, in many of the old group photos.

Ooh La La

The drawing itself took more than three weeks and was very difficult, with that rooster hair, all of those stripes, scarves and sequins. The original photo had a black background and Rod's face and hair were deep in the shadows; I had to guess where he ended and Ronnie started. Ronnie's hands were difficult because one is running a slide across the guitar neck, while the other is holding a cigarette as he plays.  How do they do that?

Rooster hair

Ronnie and Rod hung in my music room for more than two years in an old wooden frame that I tried to save, as it was a huge antique piece and I just couldn't bear to throw it out.  But really I should have, because the old girl could not hold the action of these two.  Although it took up a lot of space, they could not breathe.

So, many months later, I snagged a modern frame with a lot of flash that is really a better fit, in all ways. It's a solid wood frame painted gold, just like that first Rod Stewart album.

"Gimme Some Neck"

Now these boys are wired (heh), hung (heh heh) and ready to rock. If you'd like these faces in your rock and roll rec room, contact me at willstom01@gmail.com or find me on Facebook.

The faces ...