Commissioned original work
Large custom abstract paintings.
Give a generous wall an original work with enough presence to hold the room. Dawud Shabazz creates layered mixed-media paintings that begin with your space and become unmistakably their own.
For the wall that asks for more
Let the painting become a center of gravity.
A broad wall has its own kind of invitation. It can carry quiet, movement, color, and memory, but it also makes the scale of every decision more visible. A large custom abstract painting gives that wall a singular presence rather than a collection of smaller compromises. It can greet people as they enter, gather a living room around it, deepen a dining space, or bring a more human rhythm to a workplace.
Dawud Shabazz makes paintings with layers of acrylic, enamel, sand, glitter, texture, and gesture. From across the room, the work can establish a clear atmosphere. Up close, the surface opens into marks, shifts, and material details that change with the light and the angle of view. That range is especially meaningful at a larger scale, where a painting can hold its place in the room while continuing to reward closer attention.
A commission begins with the life around the wall. You may have measurements, a photograph, a color direction, or only the sense that the room needs more energy, calm, warmth, or depth. Those are all useful beginnings. The goal is not to manufacture a matching accessory. It is to make an original work that feels at home in the space and keeps becoming more interesting as you live with it.
Begin with the room
Bring the wall into the conversation.
For a larger commission, the room offers practical information and a feeling to work from. A simple photo shows the direction of light, the visual weight of nearby furniture, and the colors that are already doing their work. The wall’s width and height help establish proportion. The view from a sofa, doorway, table, or desk shows how the painting will be encountered day after day.
You do not need to solve the painting before the first conversation. A favorite color, a remembered landscape of feeling, or a work in Dawud’s collection that catches your eye can be enough to begin. Those references help reveal what you respond to: perhaps a dense textured surface, a field of blue, a warm trace of gold, or an active line that gives the room momentum. The finished work remains a new original, not a replica of a reference image.
Dawud was born and raised in Detroit, and his practice carries the city’s creative energy into each hand-built surface. His work has been exhibited at the Charles H. Wright Museum, Irwin House Gallery, The Carr Center, and Flatlanders Art Galleries. You can learn more about Dawud’s artistic path and visit the exhibitions page for the wider history behind the work.
A clear starting point
Consider scale without turning the room into a formula.
A large painting does not need to cover every inch of open wall to feel substantial. What matters is the relationship between the work, the furniture below it, and the distance from which you will see it. A painting above a sofa or sideboard should feel connected to the life of the room. A work in an entry or an open stairwell may need room around it to let its color and surface register.
Before reaching out, place a strip of painter’s tape or paper on the wall at roughly the proposed width and height. Then step back to the places where you normally pause. This simple exercise can reveal whether the space wants a calm horizontal presence, a vertical lift, or a more compact shape with breathing room around it. It is not a final design decision. It is a way to make the first conversation more concrete.
Light is part of scale too. Morning daylight, evening lamps, and the angle of a fixture can each change how layered mixed media is seen. A textured surface may catch a warmer note after sunset or reveal a quieter detail during the day. If you are planning a wall near a window or a regular light source, Dawud’s guide to lighting artwork at home can help you think through glare and direct sun before the work arrives.
Share Your Wall and IdeasSee the work in motion
Explore the surfaces that start a conversation.
The available collection offers a closer look at Dawud’s color, texture, and layered approach. If a particular work speaks to you, it can be a useful reference point for a commission or the original you bring home now.
Built for lived-in spaces
An original work, made to stay with you.
At a larger scale, an abstract painting can change the pace of a room without dictating one fixed meaning. It can give an open plan a point of return, make a high-ceilinged area feel more grounded, or create a moment of quiet in a space that is usually busy. The best work does not simply announce itself. It gives the room a stronger sense of itself.
That presence comes from material as much as color. Dawud’s process is built slowly through accumulated layers. Paint can cover and reveal. Sand can make a surface tactile. Enamel can bring a moment of sheen. A detail that reads as a single gesture from across the room may turn out to be many decisions held together. The painting does not flatten into a backdrop after the first week. It keeps offering new places to look.
A commissioned original also carries a direct relationship to the artist who made it. You are not choosing from an anonymous inventory or asking for a copy of something already seen elsewhere. You are beginning with a real space, a real conversation, and a practice grounded in hand-built texture and intuitive composition. The result can mark a new home, a gathered family space, a change in how you work, or simply the decision to live more closely with art.
If an available painting already feels right, you can explore the current collection at your own pace. If your wall is asking for a different scale, orientation, or atmosphere, a custom commission leaves room for a work to emerge around that particular place.
A collector’s conversation
Tell Dawud what the wall is waiting for.
Share a photograph, a measurement, or the first feeling you want to follow. The conversation can begin before every detail is decided.
Discuss a Large Commission
Frequently asked questions
About large custom paintings.
How do I begin a large custom painting?
Start by sharing a photograph of the wall, its width and height, and a little about the room. You can also mention colors, materials, or available paintings that hold your attention. That gives Dawud a useful place to begin the conversation.
Do I need a complete design before I reach out?
No. A commission can begin with a clear vision or simply a sense of what is missing from the room. Dawud can help turn a wall, a feeling, and a few practical details into a more considered direction.
Can the painting work with my existing furnishings?
Yes. A custom work can respond to the room’s palette, light, and scale without copying every finish. The aim is a painting that belongs in the space while still bringing its own energy and point of view.
What should I measure for a large wall?
Measure the clear width and height of the area where the work will hang, then note nearby furniture, lighting, and doorways. A photograph taken from the main viewing position is helpful too. These details make it easier to discuss proportion and presence.
What if I find an available painting I love?
Available work can be purchased directly when it feels right for your space. If you are drawn to a particular color relationship, surface, or energy but need a painting for a different wall, it can also be a helpful point of reference for a commission.