A Triptych Commission

Projection of the paintings installed.

I had a nice commission through the Quidley & Company Galleries this year, to do a triptych for the mantel pictured above. I thought I would share a little about the process of this project.

After the client had selected me for the commission, they didn't necessarily have a clear idea of what they wanted in the space except to have three paintings that go together installed into the architectural panels above their mantel. So we went over some of my previous works, and they really liked this one...

Erik Koeppel "The Wildcat Brook" 16 x12 in. Oil on panel

I proposed that this painting be the basis for the center panel, and to have the two side paintings be invented extensions of the scene. I sketched the idea out  in pencil on a sketchbook page as follows:

As this idea was well received, I went on to a small oil sketch...

Then it was on to the full sized panels, which came to a total of about 6ft. wide. I had to build a little custom apparatus to hold the panels together while I worked...

This shows the setup, and the paintings on the first day of work, when I blocked in the major structures of the pictures.

Then came six months of painting. The challenge for me was to make the three paintings flow together well, but also to have each of them stand on there own as a picture. Here is the finished triptych:

Erik Koeppel "The Meeting Waters" 31 3/8 x 70 in. Oil on panel, Private Collection

Special thanks to Quidley & Company for setting this project in motion. I really enjoyed the challenge!

Learn more about me and my work at www.ErikKoeppel.com

Although my calendar is busy, I'm always interested in commissioned work. Feel free to get in touch: Erik@ErikKoeppel.com