A Long Day, Oil on Panel, Derrick Breidenthal 

In May I discussed the lobby of MMG Worldwide and their big blank wall.  The CEO had come into the gallery looking for abstraction.  I didn’t need to recommend anything, since he was drawn to Derrick Breidenthal.  This commission is the result.

How did we do it?  Derrick and I met with the executive, who told us what he wanted.  We recommended a size appropriate for the wall, Derrick executed three color studies in pencil, the exec chose the one that he was the most passionate about, Derrick painted it, the exec approved, and it was installed.

Sound simple?  It wasn’t.  The weight fell on Derrick’s shoulders, not mine.  But he has absolute confidence as a painter, and this client is a brick of a guy.  He understood that the best thing is to let an artist follow his/her passion, and to not dictate.  Frankly, most of my clients are like that–although with some it sometimes takes a little explaining.  But as long as everyone’s cool in the end, that’s all that matters.