Anatomy of a Commission
At the end of this year, I created a commissioned piece for the son of parents whose showbiz careers stretched from Broadway to Hollywood. The format was to follow my Appliance piece series that features a vintage TV, a featured spokesmodel, and a collage that tells a piece of history.
Early in her professional career, Charles’ mother Arlene was a beauty queen, a model, and a singer in a touring musical trio, which meant I was gifted a ridiculous number of options when it came to choosing my spokesmodel.
Arlene’s trio press photos
Charles’ father, Danny Dayton, was an actor who got his big break when Zero Mostel fell ill, opening the door for Dayton to step into the lead role in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum on Broadway. This is the image you’ll see featured in the 1948 Emerson TV/Radio in the finished piece.
For the collage that tells their story, some of my source material came directly from his and his sister’s personal photo albums. I also dove deep into online newspaper archives, uncovering advertisements, reviews, and graphics that felt authentic to the era.
Family photo albums
With all of this incredible material in hand, my goal was to create new imagery, allowing familiar photos to be seen with fresh eyes.
Much of the content was originally black and white, which gave me an opportunity to colorize images. Many of his mother’s photos were promotional stills from her singing trio, so I created composites placing them in front of the actual venues where they performed.
My composite postcards
Extracting Arlene
It was understood from the start that I wouldn’t be sharing progress shots. Since Charles was already familiar with my style, he had a general sense of what to expect.
Pro shot before delivery date
Here’s the finished piece. Among the layers, you’ll find the letters “Dayton” in the bed of the collage. The left side documents Arlene’s life and the right features Danny’s. While I painted the sky and clouds I couldn’t help adding Klieg lights since they worked so well in Motown.
Final commission piece “Dayton”
I’ll admit, since I was more than a little anxious about the reveal. Thankfully, he loved it!
Another satisfied customer
Another great commission experience. I’m looking forward to the next one. Will it be for you? If you’d like to see my other commissions you can find them here.
Upcoming shows
The Makery - Unredacted, a group show with fellow artists from my critique group featuring my small works.
🗓 Preview: April 2
🗓 Artist Reception: April 12
🗓 Show runs: April 3–30
📍 260 S Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA
Not Shockboxx - Group Show “Up In Smoke” featuring “One Night To Forget”
🗓 Opening night: April 11
📍636 Cypress Avenue, Hermosa Beach, CA
47th Annual Venice Family Clinic Exhibition + Auction where I’ll be donating “Dating Do’s and Dont’s": I Played The Wrong Game”
🗓 Opening night: May 8
📍Exhibition is open at 910 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90012
Gabby Gallery - Group show featuring “Ecstasy XL”
🗓 Opening night: May 16
📍235 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA
See you around,
Julie