A word about artist commissions: I like taking orders for commissions, but honestly, some can stress me out a bit. Trying to create what someone else has in their mind can be a daunting task. There have been times when I finish a commissioned painting and the client that ordered it is thrilled and all is good. But then there are times when someone looks at the painting with a scrunched face and says, “oh, okay, um…..” and you know it isn’t what they were expecting. I find that the people that give you creative license to create something for a space almost always like what you create for them. It is the ones that are so specific about what they want that end up being disappointed. The reason being is that you cannot, no matter how you try, get inside someone else’s mind to see what they see. I do the best to decipher what they are describing but it isn’t always as clear as they think it is.
If you are planning to have an artist create a painting for you, here is my advice:
Do some research. Check out different artists and really look at what they have done in the past. Make sure you choose an artist that has a style close to what you want to have painted. If you want a freestyle impressionistic painting, it wouldn’t make sense to ask a Realism artist to translate your commission.
Gather some reference photos, either pictures of paintings that are similar to what you want or actual photos of the subject you would like painted. for example, a few different angles or poses for a pet portrait or some different perspectives of a particular landscape (more sky, less sky, cloudy, sun and shadows).
Size matters. Some artists don’t like to paint small, some don’t like to paint large, so as you research notice what size paintings a particular artist generally paints. You know what size that you want, so make sure the artist can accommodate the size you are interested in.
Don’t be too stringent. I know that you may have something in your mind, but don’t be so specific that you take away the artists creative license. I can usually see the lack of joy in a painting, when the artist didn’t feel good about painting it. Allow the artist to do what they do best, since you chose them for your project, there must be something that you like about what they do.
Again, these are a few things to keep in mind when commissioning an artist for a painting that will help to keep both the creator and the client happy at the end of the process.
