I just experienced my first commissioned portrait and its unveiling.  The portrait is a posthumous portrait based on a studio, black and white photograph. (I'll discuss doing a posthumous portrait in a later blog.)  The client was great to work with and is very satisfied. The following is about the enjoyable portrait process with some suggestions for commissioning artists.

Inception.  When the grandson of the subject, the client, contacted me after seeing my website, we set up an initial meeting to discuss the possibilities for the project.  I brought along with me: my portfolio, my price list, an actual completed portrait, and a list of other portrait artists in the area with their price lists.  We met at a local coffee shop, a public area that was good for both of us.

After the introductions and casual conversation, I let the client talk about his wishes or needs for the portrait. (It's best to let the client talk first about his needs, so you can match your marketing to their requirements.) He brought along the studio photograph in order for me to guage whether it would be an adequate source for the portrait.  Upon inspection, I deemed it would be adequate for a portrait.  The following conversation was about the subject and the purpose of the portrait.  The finished portrait would be installed at a public location in a nearby town.

The conversation then shifted to me and what I could do.  I showed my portfolio and the portait that I had brought along with me.  I discussed my training, my techniques, and some possible ideas about the proposed portrait.  Working with the client, you have to be open to suggestions and ideas that would make him/her satisfied.  I then brought up the fact that this would be my first formal commission and that if he wasn't comfortable with it, I had a list of portrait artists in the area that I could recommend and contact for him.  I had their published price lists and their websites information.  It turns out, he had done some previous research and had contacted some other portrait artists (even one based in England).  However, I think he was taken back by the price quotes that he was given (he didn't say what the amounts were). 

The client was very pleased with my style and technique of the portrait that I had brought along and all that we discussed.  When it looked like a possibile commission, I then offered my estimated price list.   He was immediately at ease when he saw that my prices were within reason for such a commissions like this one. 

Pricing. It's important that you do your research about pricing, understanding your skill levels and what other portrait artists in the area with similar skills are charging.  You need to set an appropriate fee for your time. Also, understand if you want repeat/referral business from a commission, the prices you set intially will be the baseline for the subsequent commissions.  So they shouldn't be too low or too high.  As you gain experience and more commissions, you can raise them as appropriate for your area and the demand.  Calvin Goodman's book, Art Marketing Handbook, can give you more insights and information about marketing yourself.

The client and I closed the meeting by agreeing it was a "go" and that we'll meet again to discuss more details.  The next meeting we scheduled was at the client's home.  If you're uncomfortable with this, take someone along with you.  While there, the client gave me more photos and copied some from the computer.  This also was a chance to see the client's artwork, trying to understand the client's taste in art.  Although there were some painterly art, most of the artwork were more classical, including some antique portraits (which I enjoyed looking at and analyzing).  This was one of the considerations towards a more formal portait.

  Location. We then set up a time to meet at the eventual location of the portrait, which was in a nearby town.  (Take your camera for photographs.)  I arrived early and walk around to see the other portraits in the building.  This would be another consideration of the style and size for the prosposed portrait. I want the portrait to complement with these. 

After the client arrived, he showed me the location.  The portrait would hang in a lobby on a brick wall next to a main entrance.  Another consideration for the portrait would be the temperature fluctuations in the area.  I decided on linen canvas mounted on foam core to prevent the canvas sag that could happen with stretched linen. We discussed the lighting that was available and the security issues of the public building.  Neither were a problem, however, I kept it all in mind.  

Sizing.  To help determine the size, I brought three completed portraits of mine in their standard frames (12x16, 20x24, 24x30).  I place them on the wall and had the client choose which size would look best.  We decided a size between the 20x24 and the 24x30 would work. At the time, I also brought up the idea that I could add hands to the portrait, using the client's hands if necessary, to make a more executive type portrait.  (The portraits there had examples of both with and without hands.) Of course, that would affect the size.  We decided then to not add hands in order to keep the size within the proposed range and to try to stay within life-size for the head and shoulder format.

Proposal.  We closed the visit by visiting the other portraits, discussing some details, and then it was up to me to send the proposal.  Following general prinicples of portrait commissions, I wrote a proposal that stated the details we discussed: the size and type of the canvas, the head and shoulder format close to life size, the portrait background, expected timelines for approvals and delivery, deposits and fees, and general responsibities of both parties.  I found Goodman's book helpful and John Howard Sanden's book, Portraits in 29 Easy Steps to be helpful writing a proposal as well.  I also researched possible frame costs at a local framer in order to give a framing estimate to the client. (It's usully stated that in general, the frame costs 10 to 15 percent of the portrait fee.)  After double checking for completeness, I sent the proposal to the organization for signing; through specific donations, they were the purchasers of the portrait.

Deposit.  Once, I recieved a signed proposal and a deposit towards the portrait, I ordered the canvases. (I always order extra canvases just in case.)  When the canvases came, I started working on the portrait, noting the hours I spent.  This helps track your work and for your estimating time of completion for future work.  Taking a photograph of the stages is great for documentation, too.

In-progress Approval.  It helps to show your client your work at some point in order to verify that the portrait is within the client's expectations.  I set up a time for my client to come to my house, which is my also my studio, to see the almost finished portrait.  I ordered a standard frame with and another without a liner.  When the client came, he was pleased with the portrait and the remaining issue was the frame.  We both decided that the unlined frame was best, however, he didn't like the frame color, a matte gold.  He was leaning towards a dark frame, which worried me on the dark brick wall location.  So, we decide to wait until the portrait was finished, and then meet at a local frame shop to select a frame at that time.  I put a few finishing touches on the portrait and considered it done.  Although he didn't have the portait yet, he was so pleased with the portrait, he told the organization to send the final payment to me for the portrait.

Photographing.  Before I handed over the portrait, I arranged for a professional photographer to take a photo of the portrait.  For this, I also took some of my other portraits, so that the total fee (which includes setup) charged by the photographer was less per portrait.  The lighting is very tricky for varnished portraits and dark paint layers.  The photographer had to make some adjustments using the computer software.  I made sure I received some 4x6 prints of the commissioned portrait to send to the client and organization for their records.

Framing.  We met at the frame shop with the finished portrait.  We tried many samples of dark, medium, and light frames.  The one I had checked out at the start of the project, a hand-crafted, no miter corners, reddish gold frame, looked the best.  Because I wanted to make sure that the back of the portrait would not touch the brick wall, I had requested additonal depth be made to the frame.  In the end, the added depth gave more presence to the portrait.  The frame took  a few weeks to be made, as it was over the summer holiday break.  Once it was in, I took the portrait back in to the frame shop.  They mounted it, sealed the back, and wired it.  As they were doing that, I called the client and he came by the frame shop to pick the portrait up. We all took one last look before they wrapped the portrait for transportation.

Final Invoice.  As a practice, I always send the purchasers of my art an invoice marked paid for their documentation and for the artwork's provenance.  With a 4x6 photo of the portrait, I sent the final invoice to the organization with all the payment details.  Since the grandson was behind the commission, I sent him a thank you card and a photo, too.

Unveiling.  The grandson and organization decide to have a formal unveiling for the portrait, although the portrait was installed not long after the frame shop was finished. Only the relatives of the subject, the staff, and myself were invited to keep the event low key.  The organization sent out the invitations. The client drove myself and my daughter (my photo and video-grapher for this time, maybe a hired professional for the next) up to the nearby city for the event.  It was a wonderful opportunity for the grandson to discuss more about his grandfather's life and we really enjoyed it.

When we arrived, we noticed the staff had placed a black cloth over the portrait and the engraved plaque underneath.

  We went to a nearby salon where the reception was to be held.  They had a nice spread of fruit, cheeses and chocolates with bottles of bubbly.  The invited guests arrived and we were all being introduced and chatting away. The president of the organization gave a very nice talk about the organization, their doners, and the idea behind the portrait.  (I could tell he was pleased with the portrait and spoke of how the portrait from afar looks like it was glowing under a spotlight.)

All of us then walked over to the main lobby where the portrait was installed.  The grandson then gave a nice talk about the subject and the subject's remarkable life.  (We had some noise from the students and parents in the area.) When he was done, he and the president together pulled off the black covering.  I remember hearing gasps and then applause.  (When I reviewed the video later, during the unveiling, the one granddaugher even put her hands over her mouth.) Fortunately and to my delight, after working so long on a portrait, hearing gasps and then applause is a good thing.  I gave my comments about the challenge and pleasure painting the portrait and then thanked everyone involved: the president of the organization, the grandson, and of course, my family.

  When we all finished enjoying the portrait and the moment, we toured the wing of the building, which was named after the subject. Pianos were playing and little girls were learning their ballet steps. We finished at the other end of the lobby where we could see the portrait from far away.  The president was right.

  The grandson with his grandfather's portrait finally in view.