It's been said that art is the only way to run away without leaving home. Artists are certainly compulsive travellers, it's just that we bring home all we can carry - to share.
More About Original & Commissioned Art
Original Fine Art: You can view most of my original artwork that’s available for sale by clicking the shop links on this page. I work in whichever media I feel suits my subjects, oil on board or canvas, pastel or charcoal and watercolour, etc. I prefer to work plein air for my landscapes whenever possible, and I always enjoy my studio still-life and wild-life paintings.
Commissioned Fine Art: Much of my professional work as an illustrator and animator revolves around a detailed interpretation of a precise creative brief. Working on a piece of commissioned fine art is perhaps more demanding in both developing and then fulfilling the brief to the satisfaction of both – my client and myself.
Architectural, Pet & Animal Portraits: I enjoy most of my lighter artistic moments with my portrait commissions; pets & animals, architecture and special places, with a few aircraft and cars for good measure. Generally smaller in scale than my other work work, some are more illustrative, some entirely digital, and almost all are a pleasure to draw or paint.
Original & Commissioned Fine Art
Frequently Asked Questions - Original & Commissioned Art
It depends, and on so many factors that it’s very difficult, or impossible, to give a meaningful answer. My commissioned oils have ranged from £350.00 to over £10,000 – it really does depend!
Choosing the artists for a commissioned pice of art is the hard part. It’s the artist’s job after that to make things as easy as possible for their client to communicate what they require, in a way that the artist can interpret and meet as a minimum, though better to exceed, the clients expectations.
A general rule of thumb is to choose an artist who’s work you like, who creates work similar to that you require, you like the way they go about their work – and finally it helps if you like them. Most artists will give you short discovery call free of charge, and that’s the best way to tell if you’d enjoy working with them, and for most of us artists that’s a very important factor too.
Most of my work is in oils, followed by pastel and watercolour. I don’t paint much with acrylics – for no particular reason other than I prefer oils. I like to pint on board, and when working with oil on canvas I will usually choose to make and size my own linen canvas, at the texture and finish that I know works best for me. Scale, and the client requirements, and cost can also be a factor that determines a choice of media and techniques.
It varies depending on scale and complexity, from say 2 – 6 weeks. Generally artists like to get on with a commission, so the main timing issues are likely to be scheduling with other workload pressures on their time.
I can only speak for myself, I do my very best to work to a “no surprises” policy from myself and my client. So far this has avoided any anxious moments with clients expectations, and my own too, simply by having good communication. Most professional artists have their own way of managing progress reporting or any creative problems with clients. My work as an illustrator and animator means I’m used to this type of open communication – and it works well, for my clients and me at least.
In my career, I’ve painted most of the subjects that come before artists, however it’s probably easier to say what I don’t paint – portraits of people. I’ve tried, and they’re just not good enough for me to enjoy painting them – and that really matters. Any creative endeavour requires a playfulness on the part of the creator, without that it’s just “production” and no authentic artists would choose to simply “produce” a piece of art.
After choosing your artist, the first significant contact should be a discovery call. That’s where both parties have a chance to get a feeling about “fit”, on a range of things, but mainly just how you get along, the quality of the conversation, and how easy it is to chat about the project. Most artists will offer a call like this prior to any formal agreement, and I, like most think it’s an essential part of the “getting to know you” process prior to working together.
