tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post8127726183671939773..comments2024-03-27T11:43:33.889-04:00Comments on Stapleton Kearns: Negotiating commissions for paintingsStapleton Kearnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00226409516935208164noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-16960117342133018122013-03-30T20:19:17.863-04:002013-03-30T20:19:17.863-04:00Excellent, Stapleton.Excellent, Stapleton.john pototschnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00728524231280036261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-87314337105346630482013-03-30T03:04:26.148-04:002013-03-30T03:04:26.148-04:00Great article Stapleton! I Really like your stuff...Great article Stapleton! I Really like your stuff-would you paint a picture of my house?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-40188608794384375412013-03-28T00:12:42.223-04:002013-03-28T00:12:42.223-04:00I hate commissions! I almost just cant do them, ...I hate commissions! I almost just cant do them, no matter what the pay. I have one looming now, all the worse because its a friend, and its a gift for his wife- " YOU know what she'll like, right?" Oh great. I couldnt weasel out. <br />The very worst, though, was a commission to paint a gal's husband, hiking his favorite trail. Bad reference photo. I did what i could, and called her to tell her it was ready. She i vited me to bring it to the house. Little did i know she had the whole family there, and i had to unveil the surprise painting, as yet unapproved j front of all of them. The grandson saved the day- when he saw the painting, he said, " hey, thats grandpa!" After that, he couldnt not like it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01799016923038189074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-41483841645221451442013-03-22T20:04:30.851-04:002013-03-22T20:04:30.851-04:00Just found your blog post on this one, Stape. Ver...Just found your blog post on this one, Stape. Very good insight into what artists can go through to make a living. Glad you are painting from your heart now and encouraging us to do the same.Durinda Cheek, Fine Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04419537093540606442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-59041827069360123772013-03-22T10:58:16.410-04:002013-03-22T10:58:16.410-04:00Wow, guess we've all been there. When I hear ...Wow, guess we've all been there. When I hear "I love your stuff-would you paint a picture of my house?" I want to say just buy one of my available paintings. How interesting can your house be?<br />Stephanie Berryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01509283083557327502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-90668616460065091932013-03-21T19:59:57.638-04:002013-03-21T19:59:57.638-04:00Nice post Stape! How did sandcape go?
~RandallNice post Stape! How did sandcape go?<br /><br />~RandallRandallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14944587596023240421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-43601575575301350282013-03-21T15:37:21.511-04:002013-03-21T15:37:21.511-04:00Thank you for this inspiring and very moving post:...Thank you for this inspiring and very moving post: it's the sort of advice and insight that I really need but no-one is there to give me. I am already trying to paint only my best (8"x6") on spec and then sell. I would love more commissions (I paint dogs from choice - sorry!) but I hope they will come if I just concentrate meanwhiles on being as good as I possibly can be. I am plagued by people asking me to paint their dogs, wasting endless amounts of my time with preliminaries about composition, size, whatever and then Not Following Through. These NFTs are driving me nuts. Have you met any and how did you deal with them?Karen Eadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14753033021426186635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-82110686243514029702013-03-21T09:49:01.354-04:002013-03-21T09:49:01.354-04:00Hi Stape, wonderful advice. I did commissions for ...Hi Stape, wonderful advice. I did commissions for a few years... I realized that I was regarded as a service provider, not an artist.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-10036091012510171312013-03-20T16:57:33.219-04:002013-03-20T16:57:33.219-04:00I do commissions, but do so reluctantly. (I do ge...I do commissions, but do so reluctantly. (I do get half up front, just like you, Stape, plus the balance on delivery.) I do them reluctantly because, so often, the client has a certain vision of the scene, and not being a mindreader, it is almost impossible to get it "just right." I tell them I'll do my interpretation of the scene, and if they don't like it, they don't have to pay the other half. I do some digging to make sure I have as good an idea as I can get of what the client wants. But really, it's my least favorite way of doing business. Hey, pick a painting I've already painted! We'll BOTH be much happier. Michael Chesley Johnson, Artist / Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17003530955203751138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-8818964332186751972013-03-20T15:43:30.562-04:002013-03-20T15:43:30.562-04:00'Look at your work as building an artist.'...'Look at your work as building an artist.'<br />Great closing words, thanks Stape.Judy P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09176284042670900772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-81461695395647659922013-03-20T13:37:31.376-04:002013-03-20T13:37:31.376-04:00Great article Stapleton! I think your advice is ex...Great article Stapleton! I think your advice is excellent and should I do commission work again, the 'half price up front' will be the first thing I tell a client. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939959032886958617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-91800024320176070312013-03-20T09:42:19.769-04:002013-03-20T09:42:19.769-04:00Thank you Stapleton. I really appreciate your wri...Thank you Stapleton. I really appreciate your writings on this subject. I am painting those 8x10's! The funniest thing I have ever been asked to paint is a plastic lobster candy dish. He paid me 100$ to make it look real. I did! Take care. Love reading what you write. Susan Renee Lammershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00768738423374316239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-21560459517091718042013-03-19T22:58:58.741-04:002013-03-19T22:58:58.741-04:00Well said Stape, words of wisdom for sure. Keep on...Well said Stape, words of wisdom for sure. Keep on keeping on! barbara b. land of bozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17603983800380945501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-75422825107471710742013-03-19T22:40:57.610-04:002013-03-19T22:40:57.610-04:00I was once commissioned by a woman to paint a port...I was once commissioned by a woman to paint a portrait from a photo of her 1 year old girl. I agreed to a much too low fee figuring it would pay off in the long run when she showed it to her friends. The only change I made to the photo was to change the cell phone the child was holding to a couple of daisies. The woman was delighted until she showed it to her husband who had been away when she commissioned it.He insisted on changes including a tiny tiny nose that completely altered the child's expression and looked freakishly out of proportion. I cringe now when I think of that portrait. I hope they burned it.I'll never again agree to changes I strongly disagree with.Theresa Grillo Lairdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11854169015176728236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-39763158833748398792013-03-19T21:50:32.166-04:002013-03-19T21:50:32.166-04:00How I cringe when I remember the commissions for p...How I cringe when I remember the commissions for portraits of dearly departed doggies or grandma and grandpa painted from blurry Polaroid snapshots! I think they served a purpose way back when, though, since the experience taught me a lot about dealing with clients and what was or wasn't worth my time and effort. There was no Stapleton Kearns blog (or ANY blog, for that matter) back then, so I had to learn things the hard way. These days, your blog is a big help and much appreciated! <br /><br />...And entertaining!James Gunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12626977085862840924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-43138443302411983252013-03-19T20:48:45.396-04:002013-03-19T20:48:45.396-04:00Wonderful advice. I am now sitting on 3 identical...Wonderful advice. I am now sitting on 3 identical paintings (or as close as they could be) of a client's home. They were to be gifts for her 3 sons. I got 25% down but since she was a "friend" I didn't ask for any more. She came by to approve the sketches and agaub when they were finished and asked if I could frame them. We picked out a frame and I went and purchased the frames. I never heard from her again and she shielded herself behind her answering machine. No computer, of course! I've no idea what happened and I certainly can't sell those paintings to anyone else. As you said, get 50% down!Lori Quartonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18244848178411940845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-22911286387846470562013-03-19T18:49:10.229-04:002013-03-19T18:49:10.229-04:00Thanks for the excellent advice and the wonderful ...Thanks for the excellent advice and the wonderful chuckle!!!Tracey Mardonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12261386338875871326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-24171293256958653682013-03-19T11:41:22.036-04:002013-03-19T11:41:22.036-04:00Always practical with your advice Stapelton and it...Always practical with your advice Stapelton and it is based upon real-world experience. Nice.<br /><br />FWIW, I accept commissions -- doing one now, actually -- but the people who pursue me need to be vetted. I spent years as an illustrator, and in that environment I knew I was working with art directors and designers who understood the process and the effort it took to create good art. (Well, most of them did. It was the end client that always worried me.) <br /><br />I charge more for accepting a commission and I make it clear to the buyer at the time of handing over a WRITTEN ESTIMATE AND FEE SCHEDULE I do so because they are involved. So right up front it is understood there will be some back and forth and approval expected from the client. It usually becomes obvious at that point how things will go and I can then decide whether accept or not. (Or whether I'll need to tack on the *sshole tax...)<br /><br />And oh yes, there MUST be a deposit paid before anything starts. Depending upon the $$ involved it may be 1/3 to 1/2 with another scheduled to be paid upon acceptance of sketches. Otherwise the buyer won't value my time and waste it. In fact, after making one or two revisions to what I feel is a finished work I'll start telling the buyer on the third request, "Sure, I'd be happy to do that...for $XX. Would you like me to start it tomorrow or give you some time to think about it?" Which is a nice way of saying I'll keep making as many revisions as you want but not for free. And gives them a graceful out by taking the painting home and then letting me know the change isn't needed. With commissions it is all about client-managment and attaching costs to changes almost always results in a happy conclusion of the painting. Almost.<br /><br />The worst commission I ever endured came from a social-climbing grandmother who wanted a Sargent-esque triple portrait of her grandchildren in her parlor. Oh, the horror. Those kids were already button-cute but Noni insisted in dialing the sweetness up to 11. It's how she saw them. Actually, it was from that experience I learned to charge for excessive change-orders, as I once did as an illustrator. She had me working on that painting for nine months. Because I let her.<br /><br />Bottom line: The fine art and commercial world can share a lot in common when it comes to business... (grin)<br /><br />I hope to meet you someday, Stapleton. And paint together. It is always a pleasure to read your blog.<br /><br />Thomas Jefferson Kitts<br />http://www.thomaskitts.comThomas Jefferson Kittshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12605776648016750552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-80175314381203632902013-03-19T06:16:17.068-04:002013-03-19T06:16:17.068-04:00Gexton... what the #%&$ are you talking about?...Gexton... what the #%&$ are you talking about?<br />... oh, you are a can of spam!<br /><br />Nice post Stape, I know I have been down this road a few times.<br />I was asked to do a beach scene mural in a five year old boys room a few years back... Mom wanted sand dunes with those beach style picket fences... I looked at her and said "Do you really think a five year old boy wants that on his walls? I'm the artist, the creative and I'll get back to you..."<br /><br />I gave her sketches of pirate ships, sea monsters, stormy sea's, diving bells etc, all the cool stuff.<br />Thank god she listened to me.<br /><br />I have had others who wanted me to work 'on the cheap' too... $200.00 for all that? forget it!<br />I'll tell them I will spend at least half that before I even put brush to canvas.<br />I should send them to the art store with a list of all I need for their painting, when they see how much it all costs maybe they will appreciate the real cost more.<br /><br />BTW did the wedding shot guy die? David Teterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747334525619423349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-34476292092192534512013-03-19T05:17:56.892-04:002013-03-19T05:17:56.892-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Gextonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12664625916235336440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-22118903807471988272013-03-18T23:05:08.405-04:002013-03-18T23:05:08.405-04:00I needed this advice, thanks much for it and thank...I needed this advice, thanks much for it and thanks especially for your pride-swallowing candor.Camille LaRue Olsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07628103755311553153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-15718387896101806462013-03-18T22:44:14.174-04:002013-03-18T22:44:14.174-04:00Thanks for such a thoughtful and thought-provoking...Thanks for such a thoughtful and thought-provoking article. Common sense advice.Sue Harrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09331476269238169228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5682081471599286551.post-8129878869290280362013-03-18T22:40:42.344-04:002013-03-18T22:40:42.344-04:00Funny and wise as hell.
Funny and wise as hell.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com