I recently finished a large commissioned painting and I wanted to share the process of how the piece was developed and executed.

Since it was a commissioned piece, the concept was something I discussed and worked out with the client beforehand. We talked about what she was looking for, elements she liked and might want to include, and I started from there.

The finished piece is done in oils on a birch panel, with areas of exposed wood, acrylic and ink, 36×48 inches.

More info: rebeccatillmanyoung.com | Instagram | Facebook | Society6

Before I get into the progress shots, here’s the finished product, I was really excited to be done with it!

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Sweet-Dreams-Painting-from-Start-to-Finish1__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 1”>

It’s a commissioned painting, so before starting working on it, I discussed all the details with the client

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sweet-dreams-step-1__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 2”>

I wanted to leave the raw wood of the panel exposed under the sort of swirl patterns, so the first step was to mask those areas with tape

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sweet-dreams-step-2__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 3”>

I masked out huge areas, projected the designs over it and traced with marker, then cut out the shapes with an exacto knife

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sweet-dreams-step-3__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 4”>

Later I gessoed the whole thing with several layers and sanded the surface smooth and sketched again to get everything in place

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sweet-dreams-step-4__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 5”>

You can see my print-out of the reference from DeviantArt I was using when I began painting

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sweet-dreams-step-5__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 6”>

I tend to work small areas at a time and then at the end I go back over areas that need more work

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/sweet-dreams-step-6__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 7”>

After the painting was done, I still had to take that tape off

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Sweet-Dreams-step-10__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 8”>

You have no idea how badly I wanted to rip that tape off at various points during the process, it was like an itch I couldn’t scratch

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Sweet-Dreams-step-12__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 9”>

Then I began to outline the shapes with a thin line of acrylic just inside the painted edges

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Sweet-Dreams-step-13-1__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 10”>

Here’s the finished piece which was delivered to its new home just a few days ago

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Sweet-Dreams-for-Esther__880.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=““Sweet Dreams” Painting From Start To Finish - 11”>

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