After we’ve had a chat and I have understood your ideas as clearly as possible, I offer the option of creating a ‘mock-up’. As part of my job as a CGI artist, I used Photoshop professionally to ‘make things look real’ even though they don’t exist yet. By this I mean, I can (or ask you to) take measurements and a photo of the space you’re thinking of putting the painting(s) in and get to work on helping you visualise what it/they will look like once complete. Given that each painting is original and unique, the ‘mock-up’ is designed to give you a feel for what the outcome will be, there’s still a process to go through but you can think of it like you would think about having an extension put on your house; this is the planning stage where the architect will draw/model what it’s going to look like and you can play around with the size and layout until you’re satisfied!
Once we’ve reached the point where you’re super happy and excited by what you’re going to receive, I can order the materials and get myself in the mood to paint (this is my ‘thing’ to worry about so fear not…!). To explain a little though, the most frequently asked question of my work is ‘how long does it take?’ and it’s a difficult one to answer. I assume that the person asking the question is asking about the time that I’m physically sat putting paint to canvas which I can time relatively accurately but that doesn’t take into the much longer time it takes to reach a point of inspiration and energy. It sounds abstract, I know but the truth is, I need some time to think about what I’m going to be working on, to visualise what I’m aiming to achieve and to ‘gear up to it’. Allowing for this ‘pre-painting’ time is essential to my work, I have learnt time and time again that I can’t force creativity so unfortunately I can’t give you a straight answer but usually I need a good few days to build up to a painting before putting any colour to canvas.
Back to the planning analogy…unlike building an extension, I will give you the opportunity to provide feedback/guidance along the way; this doesn’t allow for a complete change of direction on what kind of painting you would like - once I’ve started, I’m sticking to the original plans but I will encourage you to get in on the details - the depth, the tones, the contrast, we work together to achieve the end result. My main aim is to achieve 100% happy customer.
I’m confident that if you are still reading this then you are here because you appreciate and enjoy my style of painting and are considering commissioning your own piece of art at some point, I can’t wait to chat about what you have in mind and where it’s going to live!
In terms of the actual paint itself, I can either work in acrylic or oils on canvas board or box canvas’, I will talk to you about this when you get in touch or you’re ready to commit. Due to the nature of working in oils, there will be a premium charge and a longer process. I will often finish the paintings with oil pastels and sometimes even sketch in some details with various pens, very much depending on what the painting is and if I feel this is required.
I usually take between 2-4 weeks to complete a piece however if your painting is a gift and/or you require it quicker then please let me know. I do require a minimum of 2 weeks notice.
