October 06, 2008

Paint To Order...


Penumbra - do it again...

It's not unusual to get several email pitches a week (sometimes a day) via my website from people who want to do art business with me (read: We want your MONEY!) Most are quickly deleted... some seem earnest but are not where I want to put my time and energy at this point in time. Occasionally, a few actually lead to new representation or real opportunities. Quite a number are from art consultants looking for something that will fit in their budget but move on once I mention my price range (which I consider fairly middle of the road.)

One group has kept up their interest and finally everything came together for a particular project involving the above painting. They asked if I could paint it on panel in a certain size (slightly smaller than a 4x8 foot sheet of plywood) and asked what my price would be. Well.. I don't deal this way very often but I tossed a fair figure back at them and stated that a non-refundable deposit of about a quarter of the price would be necessary before I began. I forgot about it until a week ago they firmed it up and sent me a check for HALF of my price... their usual procedure, 50% to the artist up front!

WooHoo! This is fun! I've got the panel propped up and several coats of paint building up (including one on the back to prevent warping, hopefully.) Should go well though I haven't had great luck 'copying' my work in the past... probably because I don't want to 'copy' but do a distinct variation on it. This time, it's okay to copy... I said so!

1 comment:

CMC said...

Yep...50% is the ticket. That's what I get to start a commission, too. You probably already did this but last time I worked on a big panel, I gessoed the back a couple of coats and then glued down stretchers and a piece in the middle (depends on piece), clamped it and then it will be stable but have to be framed. I figure they are framing anyway if they wanted panels. WOO...heavy.
Taking a break myself from cooking stew for the cooler days. Studio later.