Commissions give you the opportunity to do something different and learn something new. But how does the process work?
This fall I will be doing several commissions and sharing aspects of the process here. So – if you have any questions about the commissioning process, leave a comment and I will try to answer your questions in future posts.
- “Vail Interfaith Chapel in Late Autumn” 11″ x 14″ Acrylic Lillian Kennedy
Jump! “How high?” Change seasons! “You bet.”
The key to enjoying the process is to understand that you are co-creating with the commissioning agency or person. You have been asked to manifest something and are being paid to bring their vision, however vague or specific it may be, into visual form.
In the example I am using today (commissioned through the Promenade Gallery in Vail, CO), the client (whom I will never meet) asked for an 11″ x 14″ painting with the Vail Interfaith Chapel from a specific angle. He wanted the aspen to be in their fall colors with some early snow on the trees. He wanted puffy clouds in a blue sky. He wanted some russet branches in the shrubbery. He also wanted to see Gore Creek.
Vail Chapel and Longs Peak - two giclees by Lillian Kennedy. I used these prints as references for the commission. Double click to enlarge.
I truth, you can’t see Gore Creek from the viewpoint that he had chosen. The banks of the creek are so deep that it’s easy to forget that a creek runs by. I like design challenges, but, more importantly, I understand that his experience of the place is one that includes the creek, so I make it happen. The mental image that he carries with him is that he was married years ago in a lovely mountain chapel with a creek running by it.
Yes, there are artists who believe that it’s all about themselves and their vision. The case of Richard Serra and the Tilted Arc is a good example (paraphrased from wikipedia):
- Many people opposed the sculpture. Reasons included its cost, the fact that many people found it an eyesore, and the inconvenience to those who had to walk around the massive sculpture as they crossed the plaza . A jury voted to remove the sculpture. The decision was appealed by Serra, leading to several years of litigation in the courts, but the sculpture was dismantled. The next year saw enactment of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA).
This is not the kind of commission that I am writing about. If you don’t enjoy working WITH your clients, commissioned work might not be for you. Only a few people can get away with doing whatever they want on a job. I think of commissioned works of art as a joint effort where one party conceives of an idea and pays for it and the other party brings that idea into reality.
♦TIP: I suggest having meetings with the client at various stages if the commission is large. At each meeting the client pays a portion of the total cost. The payment is a mark of approval of the work up to that step in the process. This prevents unpleasant surprises for both you and the client. It insures that there haven’t been any miscommunications, and leaves legal proof of their approval.
I don’t suggest that you accept every job offered. I’ve turned down plenty of jobs such doing a copy of this figurative painting by Gerome, one of the Artistes Pompiers. Yes, I could do figures and loved doing them. I could have learned a lot from doing a this copy… particularly about the control of lights and darks (known as values – no pun intended), but it gives me the creeps to even think about it.
♦TIP: If the commission doesn’t in some way take you closer to your dreams as as artist, it’s not for you. It may be in a style or scale that doesn’t interest you. It may be of a subject that offends you. There can be any number of reasons. Getting a free ticket on a train that isn’t going in the direction that you want to go in just puts you further from your goals at every stop. Keep your goals in mind when considering which jobs to consider.
Working on commission can be a real boon for an artist. It is inspiring to know before you start that the painting will have a home and you will have income. Please share your comments and experiences.
GREAT post, Lilly! Lately, I have shied away from commission work. I found that I wanted to have the artistic freedom to do what *I* wanted to do in a painting–and I was worried that the customer might not like the painting! I’ve also discovered I don’t like the pressure of time constraints as well. To each his own, though! …the way you have explained commission work here, I might entertain the idea again.
Margaret, I understand your concerns completely. It is funny how different we all are, as you said. I seem to NEED time constraints or I let every drag on and on by poking at it instead of concentrating on it. The fact that the piece has a home relaxes me. Otherwise, I tend to feel like I’m passionately creating possible orphans. Maybe I could change those feelings.
Such good advice. I enjoy doing commissions for the most part and did turn down one “doozy” of a challenge. An owner with 5 doberman pincer dogs (3 deceased) gave me 5 photos of her individual dogs over the decades they had them. Each had varying lighting conditions, and some images were blurry. (I also figured “scale” was going to be a problem as well since there were no comparative references between the dogs.)
The reasons I declined this commission….(a) normally I do not do animals and out of my comfort zone as Lillian also expressed, and (b) each dog was pitch black. It would be like asking an artist to paint a mother’s twins…..knowing that sensitive mothers (and they usually are) will invariably notice if one child’s eyes are even a fraction of a centimeter off, and if a likeness is not “spot on.”
Oh…one more tip. Take photos of the progress of the painting and share them with clients via email. Then, at delivery time, include a small gift of the photos you took. They could attach them to the back of the painting or, better yet, leave your presentation folder or “booklet” on the coffee table to share with friends and admirers of their commission.
Nyla, You must make your clients very happy by giving them such a booklet – and it would tend to lead to more work. The booklet would be great to show to prospective clients too.
Very interesting article, Lillian. Some of this I never considered before. Not that I have been asked to do commissions except for one time. Even then, the man just wanted me to change the color of a horse in a finished oil painting. Not something I wanted to do. I told him I would do a commission if he would bring me pictures of the horses he wanted, but I suppose he wasn’t interested. In the case of commissions, I think it might be better to have a gallery or an agent of some kind be an intermediary. Otherwise you do run the risk of painting a masterpiece you will never be paid for. Am I just in a bad mood? Maybe.
Mike, When I accept a commission directly, I always take a percentage bore I begin. If It’s a painting ( as opposed to a mural), I take 50%. It’s a good idea to write up a contract ( you don’t need a lawyer) for both parties to sign and date.
Can you give an example of how you would word a contract?
Nyla,
I will try to do a whole post on this in the future.
The basics are that both parties have to sign and date the document and there there has to be an exchange (ex.: your art for their money). You don’t need to use legal terms and can write it in your normal style. I have seen contracts where everything is covered – such as what happens if your studio burns down during the creation of the commission, but I generally keep contracts simple and to the point. they are legal even if written on napkins.
It is to everyone’s benefit to write a contract. If there is an honest miscommunication, the contract can bring that to the surface. Encourage any concerns so that you can pre-think how to cover them.
Hi Lillian
Very Interesting!
Elsy
Well i scored a 16 on the color test so not bad
thank you for the insight on commission work it is very helpful.
Once I dive into a painting all the energy goes to the experience of painting and I am relieved from all that exterior clutter, commission or not the canvas has my sole.
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