Working on commissions

Since I started as an artist back in 2017 starting to see if my work would sell I didn’t even consider that people would have the confidence to ask me to draw a work on commission. This idea was turned upside down early on as I was asked for some extra designs for the local tourist information office to accompany my beach huts card. I soon ran into the client wants vs artist ideas of how a piece should turn out, it took two attempts but we reached agreement. a second issue occurred when producing a piece for the couple who bought the original of the beach huts – in that one the sea did not workout and the piece was rejected. A lesson learnt and I was definitely wary of any commission idea.

With time my confidence regrew and I have had the honour of drawing a variety of topics from single greetings cards to woodworker aprons to larger pieces of art. I have finished five pieces in the last month and enjoyed the process. I am more confident now and insist on a 50% non returnable deposit to start work. I keep the client informed through regular photos – I have learnt my trade more.

Here are some examples of pieces and a little about them:

A miniature canvas and an early piece
Drawn at the beach after the first gig piece sold to one club and suddenly I had two clubs commissioning a piece each
A house piece drawn entirely from photos as a suite visit would be too conspicuous.
The first of two woodworker aprons customised to the individual’s tools
Greetings cards with a combination of research and inspiration
Wooden boxes have become popular in a number of sizes
The first of 7 commissioned hats since June 2020
Being entrusted to rekindle a family’s memories at a time of loss was a great honour
A commercial client and a last minute piece for Christmas 2020 in a completely different style for me
My own tree pieces inspired a commission of an important lockdown memory for my sister
Entrusted with actually depicting two friends – I was unsure if this was good enough but they loved it
2021 Christmas card design for Swanage RNLI shop – currently over 1700/2000 cards ordered have been sold – that is simply stunning and the brief for some humour

Today I finished off my second A4 piece this month that involved local building styles and enjoyed the man made materials.

What will come next?

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