As an artist who has received a lifetime of commissions, I can't think of anything that has been more liberating. To have clients who are looking for a certain caliber of art, who come to you because they want "your" work, who know the value of your ideas, is quite different than most are being trained in art schools today. The notion of an artist producing inventory on speculation for a gallery that makes all the profits and that only accepts the work they approve, was simply not a choice for me.