What is a Commissioned Painting?

In the simplest of terms, a commissioned painting is when a client requests an artist to create a tailored painting according to his or her choosing and from of course their own other directions.

When commissioning a painting, the client, besides choosing the subject matter to be painted, has many other decisions to make. The client needs to choose the art medium they want the painting to be done in; oil, watercolor, acrylic, or perhaps something else, dependent on the subject matter, something more unique like coffee. Is the artist willing, or does the artist have the ability for instance, to cross over in painting from oil to watercolor if that is the medium the client decides they want?

The client must, in choosing an artist, decide what style of painting they want; realistic, impressionistic, abstract, modernist etc. Most artists have certain things they specialize in painting whether its flowers, people, landscapes, animals, etc. Will the artist the client is looking at do a good job in painting the subject they have in mind?

Choosing and letting the artist know what specific colors they desire in their painting is another important item. When completed the client wants the painting to blend in and compliment their personal surroundings.

The client should carefully review the work of several artists’ work. They should be aware of what medium they paint with and whether they are interested in doing paintings on a commission basis.

Another item the client needs to decide upon is what size they want the painting to be. Not all artists are comfortable painting larger than 20″ X24″. If the client wants a painting above their bed or sofa only the client would know just what size it should be.

Another important item to agree upon between the client and the artist is the time frame to which the painting is to be completed. Some artists produce paintings in a timely manner while others are hard to pin point and may have difficulty producing according to a specific date.

Last but not least, price is normally determined by size and the medium chosen. Some artists want to travel to the site, view the subject personally before painting it. Others would just as soon paint from a good photograph. Normally framing, matting if required, glass, packing and freight are added to the artist’s quote for painting the client’s subject.   Most artists will probably request the client to sign some sort of agreement and make a deposit of at least 50%. The balance will be paid upon completion of the painting.

As an artist I personally relish the opportunity and challenge of doing a commissioned piece of artwork, just as long as it is in a media in which I frequently paint (watercolor, acrylic or coffee) and of course if you want the painting to be realistic.