Why I Love Making Custom Pieces And What the Process Actually Looks Like

There's something different about making a piece for someone specific. When I'm working on a piece for myself, exploring a colour, chasing a feeling, following the ink wherever it wants to go (sometimes off the bloody page...) it's a pretty solitary thing. Just me, the studio, good tunes and whatever mood the day brought in with it.

But a commission is a conversation. It starts with someone telling me something they love, or someone they love, or a space they want to feel different. And from that, we make something together, even if I'm the only one holding the brush.

I've had a run of custom pieces lately that I wanted to write about, because they each came from a completely different place, and I think they show what commissioning a piece from Slick Oils can actually look like in practice.

The Birthday Piece — "Freddie" The Orange Cat for My Dad

This one is personal. My dad's birthday was coming up and I wanted to make him something rather than buy something. He's a cat person, very much so and I knew straightaway that I wanted to capture that in the piece.

He adores his boy Freddie so I worked in warm amber and orange tones with gold running through the silhouette, the ink pooling and spreading in a way that gives the piece real warmth and texture.

Just like Fredster himself!

The shape is clean and confident. The frame we went with was an ornate antique gold, which pulls everything together and gives it proper presence on a wall.

There's something about the way gold catches the light that I never get tired of. Morning light gives you one thing; an evening lamp gives you something completely different. It's a piece that keeps revealing itself.

He's a genuinely hard person to buy for. But you can't really argue with a piece of original art made specifically for you. Not quite as beautiful as the man himself though 👇🏼

Top Hat & Tails — A Hare in Gold and Charcoal

The inspo came from Top Hat & Tails, my favourite speakeasy cocktail bar here in Teignmouth. Their logo is a hare in a top hat and I wanted that brought to life as a piece of original artwork for their space.

I loved this immediately. There's something inherently brilliant about a hare in a top hat: a bit eccentric, a bit elegant, completely its own thing. The piece needed to match that energy.

I worked with a rich and dramatic theme, with the hare rendered in gold. The whole thing has this quality of being simultaneously bold and refined, yet a little mysterious. It reads from across a room, but the closer you get, the more detail there is to find in the texture of the gold.

Evening light in a bar is a very specific thing. You want a piece that holds its own in that atmosphere, that has enough presence to command attention, but enough warmth to feel like it belongs. I think this one does exactly that.

Nelson's Cat Café — Pink, Green and Gold

Nelson's Cat Café is one of those Teignmouth spots that immediately makes sense for original artwork. It has a real identity, a genuine atmosphere, and actual cats wandering around in it. (Best thing ever...) Their brand colours are pink and green, and they wanted a piece that felt true to who they are: warm, characterful, and a little playful.

I worked the cat silhouette in those pink and green tones with gold running through. Ink behaving the way it does, pooling in unexpected places, creating texture that feels almost organic. The gold keeps it elevated. The shape is clean and confident.

What I love about this piece is how different it feels from the Top Hat & Tails hare, even though I'm using a similar silhouette format. The palette completely changes the personality of a piece. The café cat feels fresh and welcoming; the bar hare feels dramatic and a little mysterious. Same process, entirely different world.

When a piece genuinely matches the atmosphere of a space, when it looks like it was always meant to be there, that's the moment I know it's worked.

What Commissioning a Custom Piece Actually Involves

I get asked about this a lot, so it's worth explaining clearly.

The process starts with a conversation. That might be a quick message telling me roughly what you're looking for. The space it's going in, the colours you're drawn to, the feeling you want it to have. Sometimes people have a very clear vision; sometimes they just know they want something original and they trust me to interpret the brief.

From there, I'll come back with some thoughts on direction, palette and size. We agree on the approach before I start, so there are no surprises. Custom pieces take a little time. I want to give them the attention they deserve, but I'll keep you updated throughout.

Commissions are available for private individuals and businesses alike. Whether you're buying for your home, your office, your salon, your café, or someone you love, the process is the same. We talk, we make a plan, and I make you something that won't exist anywhere else.

A Note on Businesses and Original Artwork

The commissions for Nelson's and Top Hat & Tails are part of something I feel strongly about, which is original artwork in commercial spaces.

There's a real difference between a print from a homeware chain and a piece made specifically for a room, or for a brand. Customers notice it. It changes how a space feels. It's a conversation starter. And for a business with a real identity - a café that knows its aesthetic, a bar with a particular atmosphere, original art is one of the most powerful things you can put on a wall.

I work with local Teignmouth businesses (and surrounding areas) on commissions and also offer artwork leasing, which allows businesses to display and rotate original pieces over time without the full upfront investment of purchasing. If that's something you'd like to explore, I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

Thinking About a Commission?

Whether it's for someone you love, a space that needs something original, or a business that wants artwork as distinctive as its brand, I'd love to hear what you have in mind.

Custom pieces start from £100 depending on size and complexity. Lead times vary, so if you have a date in mind, get in touch sooner rather than later.

You can reach me through www.slickoils.co.uk or send me a message on Instagram @slickoilsart. I always reply personally.

Becky O'Donovan - Slick Oils Abstract ink artwork, Teignmouth, Devon Available for private commissions and commercial partnerships