Commissions Information

Commissions take a great deal of time and attention to complete, and it would be an extremely rare event for me to be able to begin a custom painting immediately upon being asked. Additionally, I do paint in acrylic, but it still takes a week for the painting to cure after it is finished before varnishing coats can be added. The varnishing itself, to be done as it should, requires curing times between coats that extends the process another week. After that, it takes at least another two weeks to fully cure before it is advisable to submit it to the rigors of being shipped. That means it takes a minimum of a full month after the painting is completed before it can even be shipped out. Add another week or two for shipping and you can easily understand why it is a good idea to contact me at least six months before you would like to receive the painting - truly, at the very, very, very least.

If you would like to have the painting professionally scanned so it can be printed as wall art should anything happen to the original painting, or if you would like to be able to have tote bags or other products made from a digital image, then you should figure on it taking an additional two months at least, as this service is done by a separate studio. The cost for this purely optional service and for the digital image file itself as well as for the copyright permission to print any items you would like for your own personal use is reflected in the higher total cost in the "$ W/Scan" column above.  Considering that so far all of my commission clients have chosen to have their paintings digitized, the ideal would be to reach out to me regarding a commission a year before your desired delivery date.

Finally, I will say again that I have many paintings lined up to do and a generally full schedule; so I do not guarantee I will accept your commission request, but I am more than happy to consider it. :)  If I am unable to accommodate you or if you are interested in a cheaper, more mass-market option, there is a website called Paint Your Life that offers paintings from photographs.  (I have never worked with them personally and am not recommending them, as I truly know nothing about them other than their low price, but I am merely mentioning it as a possible place to continue your investigations.)  In contrast to that, if you are looking for an experienced and highly skilled oil portrait artist, then one of the best pet portrait artists I have personally seen is Nicholas Beall at www.pet-portraitartist.com with oil portraits starting at over $2,700 for a 12x10.

The picture provided to me as the reference MUST be taken by the person submitting the photograph and the pet in the reference must belong to the person submitting the image.  An animal's image is specific to that animal, and not only the animal itself but also its image is legally considered the property of the pet's owner. That means no one except the owner is allowed to photograph the pet to use for commercial purposes (like selling a painting based off of it) unless first granted copyright permission. It is good to notice in this website's Terms of Use that any submissions sent to Him Alone Art are automatically considered the property of Him Alone Art.  (Please read the Terms of Use for details, paying particular attention to the Submissions section.)  Therefore, before I paint anything for a commission, I will email a copyright release form (included at the bottom of this page) that grants me permission to use the image for commercial purposes, and that means the person signing it must be legally able to grant that permission.  I understand this makes it difficult to give a commissioned painting as a gift, which is likely as disappointing a fact to myself as it is to anyone since I love both gifts and surprises, but copyright law is rather a killjoy on this point.

Due to the poor quality of most home photographic references, I will typically not paint on anything larger than an 8x10 surface using a photo taken by a cell phone or by consumer-grade cameras.  This is because the eyes are the most important aspect of any portrait, and they often do not have sufficient clarity and detail in home reference photographs taken by cell phones, even as good as cell phone images have gotten.  This is by no means an inescapable truth, and I have seen some exceptionally clear and detailed cell phone pictures that could absolutely be used for a reference for a larger painting.  I can easily see, therefore, how a cell phone image might be usable if direct attention is given to obtaining a clear, well-focused animal portrait at the time of taking the photograph; so, as always, you may certainly email me for possibilities.  This is merely the guiding principle.

TIPS: When selecting (or taking) a photo for use as a painting reference there are a few vital things to keep in mind.  The first is the angle of the shot.  While there are exceptions to every rule, it is almost universally true that pictures taken for the sake of pet portraiture (not caricature) should be taken at the same level as the pet.  If the animal is lying on the floor, then lie on the floor to get the best angle.  If the animal is a horse or is up high, then stand on something or raise your camera higher.  And so on. 

The next thing to remember is the distance of the camera to the subject.  Taking pictures with the camera lens too close to the animal will distort the proportions, enlarging the near parts (such as the nose) and dramatically shrinking the further parts (such as the hindquarters).  Again, while this is intentionally done in many puppy photographs or caricature shots, it is best avoided if a realistic portrait is desired.  By all means, do the opposite of this if a caricature portrait is your goal.

While there are many other considerations I could name, I will only mention this last and all-important factor, and that is, lighting.  Seriously, if only one thing were done to perfection, this would be the one to get.  What you are looking for is a SINGLE main light source that is NOT directly behind the subject (making the entire visible side of the animal in shadow) and also NOT directly behind the photographer (making the entire visible side of the animal in direct light and, therefore, all but eliminating shadows and artificially flattening the pet's features).  This means you do NOT want a picture with the sun, for example, directly behind you when photographing your pet, even though this will create excellent "catchlights" or "eye lights" in the subjects eye.  Nor, unless you want a silhouette only, should the sun be directly behind the pet.  Additionally, it is best not to take the photo outside near noon nor in a room where the dominant light is overhead.  This creates strong downward shadows that are typically not the most appealing when contemplating a portrait.  Ideally, there would be a secondary light source that would not be so strong as to create competing shadows nor competing color profiles (such as a strong indoor light yellowing what would be the shadow areas caused by a window light as the main light, for example.)

In summary, the ideal lighting will have a main light at an attractive angle (such as a frontal 45 degrees) to the pet such that it is not overwhelming all the visible features but still creates "eye lights" in both eyes.  In a perfect world, secondary lights would provide enough light to soften the shadow areas but not eliminated them.  At the very least, it is critical to have a catchlight in the eye nearest to the camera.

Again, these are simply guiding principles that are meant to be helpful to you, but if you have a photograph that you love, then it can break all of these rules and still be a precious pet portrait.  I encourage you, therefore, to view these suggestions as merely that and not as hard and fast requirements.

I think it's wonderful that you are considering having a commissioned painting done!  So, where do you go from here?  Well, it's time now to go beyond the general information I have provided on this page and to get down to the specifics of if or when my schedule would allow for your project and if that all works for you.  So, to get started with that, all you need to do is to reach out to me with a basic idea of what you would like painted and what size you have in mind, and we can go from there together. :)  It doesn't have to be fancy, just something super simple like:  Hi Cassie, I am interested in getting a small cat painting done for my wife, maybe just a 5x7 or 8x10.  Please let me know if you are interested and if you could get that delivered in time for Christmas.  Thank you, Mr. Right  ... See? Nothing to it. ;)

I will reply to your email to answer any questions you may have asked and will also likely send you my Commission Request Form, which I have included in the section immediately below this in case you are the detail-oriented, look-before-you-leap type (like I am ;) ).  It's just there to give you an idea of what to expect after you've emailed me.  Frequently, clients are not firmly decided on what size painting or crop ratio might be best for their project, so just know that it is okay if you simply take your best guess when it comes time to filling it out.  The form is intended to help save us both time by getting as close as possible to clarifying the details of your project; it is not a commitment to anything at all.

Once we have gone over your Commission Request Form and settled more firmly on the specific reference photo, size of painting, estimated delivery date, and other specifics, you can decide if you would like to move forward with the project.  At that point I will put together a formal quote to lock in these details and I will also send you the Submissions Release Form (also included below) for you to fill out, sign, and send back to me.  (The highlighted areas indicate places that may require your input.  Also notice that in addition to these, each page should be initialed and dated at the bottom.)  This step is mostly a formality since all email communications and submissions are already subject to the Terms of Use outlined on this site; however, I feel it is best practice to provide this opportunity for you to review the terms specific to the commission, and it also provides me a good place to collect the contact and legal information I might need to communicate with you or with fine art printers later.  (Some printers require a proof of copyright before prints can be made.)  In any case, I have included this document below so you can preview it any time you like. :)

After the planning stage is passed it's time to get down to painting! YAY! :)   I will reach out to you by email two to three weeks before your painting is scheduled to be started to give you a week or so to get around to mailing the check for the 50% deposit so I can begin your painting on schedule.  (I currently accept checks only for commissioned paintings.)  Once the painting is completed, I will send you a photograph, and we can discuss any alterations, adjustments, or tweaks you would like to have done, if possible.  Once that is done and you are happy with it, you can decide if you would like it digitized.*  After that, it is just a matter of sending over the final payment before finishing off the painting with isolation and varnish coats and waiting for the curing time to pass before it can be shipped out to its new happy home! :)  And everyone lives happily ever after. :)

*Digitization of the painting involves a professional scan of the painting that produces an exceptionally high-resolution image file suitable for fine art reproductions of your painting.  If you decided to go that route, I will email you the digital file through WeTransfer so it is not compressed, and you can use it to print custom items such as throw pillows or tote bags or, depending on the size of your painting, even blankets or shower curtains!  Naturally, this also means you can use it to reproduce wall art prints either the same size as the original or larger, if desired.  This is the best insurance policy you can have since if anything happens to your one-of-a-kind painting in shipping or thereafter, not even I can paint it exactly the same way again.  That is the beauty and the risk of custom art.  It is different each time.  That is why I offer the peace of mind of digitization of your commission.  It is completely optional.