One of the things I love about painting is getting a commission that I can't wait to paint!  Liz asked me to paint her grandson from a photo that was a great moment in time for the family.  She originally wanted an 11 x 14 but after she saw my sketch she realized that her grandson would be too small to really see his cute smile so she opted for a 16 x 20 - much better size since the large sign was one of the things she wanted in the painting as it shows where they were that day.  

I did a small grid so that everything would be in the right place.  After that I felt that getting his image was the next most important. But the sign had to be also done because it takes up so much space.  

Once Nate was in place and proportions looking good, it was important to get all the surrounding colors started so that I could see where to go next with the color.

I thought it was a good idea to add more to the sky and I thought the diagonal clouds would be interesting.  Once I had the truck finished I had to work on that sign.  My hand writing is pretty messy so I didn't relish working on the lettering on the sign!

And the final lettering!