Sittings will
take place at the subject’s place of residence, the artist’s studio, or
at a mutually agreed upon location.
A
preliminary meeting, often by telephone, will be held to establish the key points for the
commissioned work:
Location:
indoors or outdoor
Clothing and mood:
formal or informal
Subject: one figure or more than
one?
Background: simple or detailed?
Size of finished painting: where
will it hang, and what should be the
general color scheme?
Price: based on size, and
complexity of the painting.
The second meeting will be the first
sitting, which will usually be a photographic session of about two to
three hours. When taking the photographs, typically 75-125 exposures,
the artist uses professional lighting and camera equipment, and will
work indoors, or out of doors as needed. In some
instances he may do a life study in oil of the head if time permits. In
rare instances a second sitting may be necessary, either to do a head
study or to take additional photographs. Sometimes the preliminary
meeting and the photographic session may take place on the same day,
depending on location.
The photographs will be submitted
promptly to the client for their approval of the basic concept of pose
and expression. The artist would make every effort to deliver the
finished portrait roughly 90 days thereafter.
At the clients’ option, a quarter sized
study in oil of the final portrait may be prepared for an additional fee and
submitted for approval prior to the start of work on the main portrait.
This would require additional time. The quarter study would become the
property of the client upon completion of the main portrait.
One
third of the commission price is requested to be paid at the time of the
first sitting, with the balance due upon delivery of the completed
portrait.
