In the fall, I took on a portrait commission of a horse.
On that point, no worries.

The challenge came from the color palette.

My commissioner sent me a reference photo — a bouquet — with very specific tones.
That happens, and I’m usually comfortable adapting, as long as the presence of the horse remains intact.

But there is something to know about my work:
I never use yellow.
And I never use purple.

So when I saw the bouquet, and one color in particular…

Burgundy.

I froze for a moment.
😳 😱 🤨 🤔

You want me to bring this into my work — really?

It took me a few weeks to process the idea.
Not to reject it, but to understand how it could exist without breaking the balance I’m attached to.
Color, for me, is never decorative. It has to belong.

And yet, the bouquet was beautiful.
Subtle, deep, alive.
It stayed with me.

So I tried.

Carefully.
Probably shyly.

The photo doesn’t quite do it justice — the burgundy is barely visible there.
But it is present.
I swear it is 😬

Sometimes, a commission is not about adapting your work to a request.
It’s about letting something unfamiliar enter your language — and seeing what it transforms.