A commission is usually about a place rather than a picture. A beach someone walked every summer, the house they grew up in, the view from a window that is not theirs any more.
What she paints on commission
- Landscapes and coastal scenes, on Cape Cod and along the Connecticut shoreline
- Houses and buildings that mean something to the person asking
- Gardens, often someone’s own
- Pet portraits, which have their own page
How it works
- Tell her the place, roughly what size you have in mind, and where it will hang.
- Send photographs if you have them. If the place is close enough, she may go and look at it.
- She quotes a price and a timescale before she starts.
- She paints. You can see it in progress or wait for it.
On price
There is no price list, because size and subject move the number too much for one to be honest. Her paintings hang in Connecticut galleries and are priced there; a commission is quoted individually. Ask and she will tell you.
What helps
Photographs in good light, taken at the time of day you want the painting to be. More than one angle. And a sentence or two about why the place matters, which does more for the painting than another photograph would.
Frequently asked
- What does a commissioned painting cost?
- It depends on size and subject. Her work in galleries runs from small studies up to larger canvases, and a commission is quoted individually. Call and you will get a number, not a range.
- How long does it take?
- Weeks rather than days, and longer if she is painting a place she wants to visit first. She will give you a date before starting.
- Can you paint somewhere from my photographs?
- Yes, and it works best when you also tell her what you remember about the place. A photograph records the light on one day; what people usually want is how it felt.
- Can you paint a house?
- Yes. House portraits and places with meaning attached are a regular request.
- Will I see it before it is finished?
- If you want to. Some people would rather be surprised.
