Commissions
A portrait, a house, a place that matters. We agree the subject, the size and the price in writing, I send sketches before I touch the canvas, and I never paint the same thing twice.
- Commissions
- Open
- From
- 1,200 RON
- Lead time
- 6–10 weeks
The final price depends on the size, the medium and how complicated the subject is. We agree it in writing before I start, and it does not change along the way.
Most of the commissions I take are for a place: a house someone grew up in, a window, a road. A few are portraits. They all start the same way — with a message telling me what you have in mind and where the work will hang. I do not need a long brief; I need an honest one.
I paint from life whenever it can be done, so I prefer to see the place or the person at least once. When that is not possible I work from photographs, and I tell you at the start what gets lost. I do not touch the canvas until you have chosen a sketch, and the price and size are in writing before that. The rest is time.
The steps
How a commission goes
Six steps, in the order they happen. Nothing starts without the step before it.
- 01
The brief
You write to me with what you have in mind: the subject, the wall it will hang on, whether you have a deadline. I reply within a few days with what can be done and what cannot.
- 02
The sketches
I email you one or two sketches — the composition, the format, the light. I do not touch the canvas until you choose one. If neither works, I try once more; if that fails too, we stop here and you owe nothing.
- 03
Price and size, in writing
We settle the size of the canvas, the technique and the price, and put them in an email. What is written there does not change along the way.
- 04
A deposit
Once the sketch is chosen you pay a deposit, agreed between us and written in the same email. The balance is paid at the end, before delivery, by bank transfer.
- 05
Progress photographs
This is where the time goes. You receive photographs as the work moves on, and if something is wrong it changes while the paint is still wet.
- 06
Delivery or collection
The work leaves signed on the reverse, with a certificate of authenticity, in a rigid crate, insured — or you collect it from the studio, free, on a day we agree.
Prices
A guide, by size
A starting point, so you know roughly where you stand before you write. The format matters most; the technique and the subject come after it.
| 30 × 40 cm | From 1,200 RONA small study: a head, an object, a window. Oil on board or on canvas. | A small study: a head, an object, a window. Oil on board or on canvas. |
|---|---|---|
| 50 × 70 cm | From 2,000 RONA head-and-shoulders portrait, an interior, a landscape the size of a window. | A head-and-shoulders portrait, an interior, a landscape the size of a window. |
| 70 × 90 cm | From 3,000 RONA full portrait, a house with its yard, a place with depth in it. | A full portrait, a house with its yard, a place with depth in it. |
| 100 × 120 cm | From 4,500 RONThe largest format I work in oil. Months, not weeks. | The largest format I work in oil. Months, not weeks. |
Prices are a guide and start from the format shown. The real figure is agreed in writing before I start, and does not change along the way.
Tell me what you have in mind
You do not need to have everything settled. Write what you know now; the rest we settle by email.
Questions about commissions
How long does it take?
Usually between six and ten weeks from the deposit, for the small and medium formats. A large canvas takes months, especially in oil, where the layers have to dry between one another. The deadline goes in the same email as the price; if the work is for a particular date, tell me at the start.
What if I do not like the sketches?
You tell me what is not working and I try once more. The sketches come before the deposit, so up to this point you have paid nothing; if the second round is no good either, we stop, with no obligation. I would rather find out at the sketch than on the canvas.
Can it be a place from a photograph?
Yes, when there is no other way — a house that no longer exists, a place thousands of kilometres away. I still prefer to see the place at least once; if it is in Romania, I often go. From a photograph I paint what is in it, not what I imagine lies around it, and I tell you at the start what gets lost: usually the light.
Is there a size limit?
The smallest format I take on commission is 30 × 40. The largest in the guide, 100 × 120, I work in oil. For anything bigger I usually switch to acrylic, so that it dries in a reasonable time — but ask first: it depends on the wall, and on the door it has to fit through.
Does it come framed?
The work leaves stretched on its frame, unframed, unless we agree otherwise. I can tell you what kind of frame would suit it and where I have had work framed before; if you want it to leave framed, the frame is added to the price and the deadline, in writing.
Do you ship abroad?
Yes, on request. Transport and insurance are worked out for your destination and added to the price; I write you the figure before you confirm, not after. The canvas travels stretched, in a rigid crate, the same as within Romania.