Commisioning a Portrait

By: John Burton

How many of us have ever commissioned an Artist to paint or draw a portrait of our partner, children, or pets? I suspect the answer is very few. Yet, thanks to the Internet, it has never been easier, or more affordable to employ the services of an Artist.

The Internet is a great way for Artists to show examples of their work, and market their services to a global audience, especially those Artists who are willing to work from photographs supplied by the client.

From the customer’s perspective, there is ample opportunity to shop-around, compare styles and prices, from the comfort of their own home.

The majority of Artist producing portraits from photographs charge around £100 for a medium sized basic portrait (i.e. a single subject). Most do not require a down payment, nor obligate the client to pay a penny if they are not delighted with the Artist’s work. You will normally be given the opportunity to preview a scan or photo of the finished work before committing to a purchase. If you think about it, I am sure you will conclude that Artists offer a fantastic deal.

Sadly, Artists are generally one of the lowest paid professions. Recent research undertaken by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (commissioned by a-n, The Artists Information Company) highlighted that many Artists’ earnings are substantially lower than those in comparable professions such as teachers, who have similar skills and levels of education.

This means the customer gets the Artist’s time, skill, and experience, for a fraction of the cost of most other trades.

There are many good reasons for commissioning a portrait. Artwork makes an extraordinary gift. It shows that you have made the effort to obtain a very personal and unique present, which required forethought and effort to obtain.

A portrait can immortalise a loved one, or precious moment far better than a photograph. A good Artist will very subtly amplify the best features of a subject (e.g. increase pupil size, and emphasise catch lights), while diminishing the undesirable (skin blemishes, wrinkles). Often all the background clutter of our snapshots is removed, and the picture improved. It may be hard to accept that a painting or drawing can be better than a photograph, but a large proportion of my work is portraits of departed loved ones (partners and pets), where the client wants a picture because their photographs are imperfect.

If you want to commission a portrait, you will need a reasonably good reference photograph for the Artist to work from. You need to remember that the Artist will have no knowledge of the subject, other than what they see in your photographs. Poor composition in the reference photo can always be corrected.

You also need to plan ahead, as many Artists will not be able to start a new job immediately. It may take several weeks for your portrait to be completed, so make enquiries early if you a looking for a portrait as an Anniversary, Birthday, or Christmas present.

Artists will normally offer suggestions and advice on many aspects of your commission; artwork size, medium used, composition changes, etc. You should listen to what they have to say – they will usually be right!

If you would like a starting point, the “Commission a Portrait top site” detailed below is a list of Portrait artists who undertake commissions.

Article Source: https://www.collectibles-articles.com

Commission a Portrait top site listing of Portrait Artists

Portraits by John Burton

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