Getting a Commission Painting Made — Lauren's Example

Having a painting commissioned, or made just for you, is a very exciting thing to invest in. It can seem overwhelming though if you don’t know what to expect. Terms I may use as an artist may have different meanings to you. The idea of a color scheme and saying “i like blue” is not really the best plan, since there are so many types of blues: royal blue, teal blue, sky, cobalt, lake, viridian, cyan, and my favorite phthalocyanine.

A picture says a thousand words though, so the safest way, in my opinion and experience, is to find one or two paintings the artist has already made that have elements you love in them.

Original painting that Lauren liked and we used as the basis for her commission project.

One of the last in progress photos sent to Lauren along the way for her to approve the direction. At this point, she wanted to add some floral elements into the rose gold area.

For example, with Lauren, she loved the design of this pink painting. But the color scheme she needed it in was blues with some rose gold. We discussed on the phone (yes, a real conversation, not text) which areas she wanted to be the rose gold, whether she wanted it to be a major part of the painting or a minor part. We also discussed what types of blues she would like to see and possibly where. Lauren was a wonderful client to work with because she knew exactly what she wanted.

Commission pieces can be tough for both the artist and the client when the client is unclear about what they want. I prefer to work with clients who fell in love with a specific piece, but just wanted at in another size or color. That being said, even recreating your own work can be difficult and it is not ever possible to make an exact replica.

This is the finished painting with the floral area added, and the finishing touches such as the black lines.

Towards the end of the process, Lauren saw the progress photo and thought she wanted to add some floral elements that she saw in another painting to break up the large expanse of rose gold. Again, she liked the design but wanted different colors, which is never a problem.

After a few more check in photos, I finished up the painting at delivered it to her! She had it hung in her office the same week.

Every artist is different, but this was a very successful client/artist interaction in my book and went very smoothly. The key is good communication! Sometimes that requires a real conversation to make sure you are accurately understanding each other.

I first bought one of Erin's pieces at the Edwardsville Art Fair in 2017. I passed by her booth and was instantly drawn in by the colors and textures - I'm fairly sure I gushed to her about how joyful every single one made me feel. Isn't that what art is supposed to do? It was so hard to pick just one but I finally settled on "Indian Summer." Since then I have commissioned two pieces and throughout the process Erin provided updates to make sure the piece was going in the direction I wanted for each space. I initially provided Erin with a photo of the space I wanted the piece to hang and the colors I was hoping to emphasize. From there I let Erin take the reins and was astounded with the results! My most recent request was a large "family portrait" of swans for my god-daughter's nursery. I get regular reports that my god-daughter loves to *feel* her painting and I was so excited by the idea of all the colors and patterns helping her tiny brain develop as she grew. I could not be any happier with my experiences with Erin and the beautiful artwork that now surrounds me and my loved ones!

——Lauren C.