Some artists will never accept a commission to create a piece of art for a particular person or purpose. They feel that it violates their artistic integrity and places them in a straitjacket, strangling their creativity and freedom of expression. These artists create their art because this is the way they express themselves and not because they’re going to receive money for having completed it in a particular way.
While many artists will be able to see this point of view, most of them probably prefer to find a balance between self-expression and monetary income, especially where we are relying on selling paintings in order to cover the costs of expensive materials and more besides.
On the other side of the coin, an artist can feel quite flattered to think that someone likes their artwork enough to be happy to commission a special piece from them; and it can be nice to know at the outset that this is one piece of artwork you know you will be able to sell. Accepting a commission can put presure on you though, because working to commission is one time when you don’t get to choose how the work will look, in effect you are producing the artwork for somebody else instead of for yourself.
Working to commission can be a great experience for an artist, a golden opportunity to be paid to do the work you love doing, and if the first one brings more commissions in, it may be an opportunity to finally go professional. To help the whole process go smoothly this article contains useful information that will help you avoid any problems and have an enjoyable and successful experience.
The first thing I want to get across to you is that working to commission is not the same as producing artwork from your own ideas, and then exhibiting it in a gallery in the hopes of making a sale.
This might seem an obvious point, but there really are a lot of differences between producing artwork on commission and producing it spontaneously from your own creative ideas. When you’re working to commission you are producing the artwork that the customer wants. Yes, they have seen your work, hopefully, and know your style and have a good idea of your abilities, but at the end of the day they have an idea in their head as what they want the art work to look like, and they’re not going to be happy if you produce something which is completely different. This means that you need to have a very clear channel of communication open between you, and a good understanding of what is expected by both parties, before you begin.
Ideally you need to meet with your customer before you take on the commission in the first place. This meeting needs to take place at your studio so that your customer can have the chance to look at a variety of different pieces of artwork that you produce. This then gives them a broader idea of the type of work you produce, and the more artwork of yours they can see, the more likely they are to be happy with the piece you produce for them, because they really know what to expect. As your potential customer is looking through your artwork it is helpful if you can encourage them to talk to you about their likes and dislikes. If you listen carefully you can get a good idea about what to include and what to leave out when producing the work for them.
In order for the commission to work out to everyone’s satisfaction both you and your customer need to have the same image in your heads of how the finished piece will look. The only way to know whether you are both on the same wavelength is to have a discussion where both parties can air their doubts, and talk about their hopes, plans and expectations.
The whole process is always easier if the customer has commissioned artwork before, even if it was in a completely different style and from another artist. They will be much more knowledgeable about the process if they are not a first time customer. Obviously you can’t choose this, but it’s important to find out as much as you can before actually accepting the commission, because in some cases it just isn’t going to be worth your time, worry and stress to take on the commission unless you and your customer can communicate well and truly manage to get on the same wavelength. It is during this initial, pre-agreement, conversation, that you get to know what the customer has in mind, and if you discover that they have unrealistic expectations of the finished piece, it’s really best to turn down the job rather than set yourself up for a whole host of problems and the accompanying stress.
It’s a good idea to find out what type of mood or message your customer is looking for in the piece you produce for them. These sort of broad ideas give you a good start and help to tell you what it is they are hoping to receive. For instance, if you are producing a portrait for them, it’s very important to know whether they’re looking for something which is almost photographic, or whether they’re hoping that you will produce a painting that reflects their personality, interests and inner spirit more than just their facial structure.
You also going to need to know whether you are producing the art just for your customer or whether others, perhaps a spouse or business partner, will also be approving the work. The more people you have to please the less likely you are going to be able to please them all.
Once you feel that you understand what your customer is looking for, and that they understand what it is they are likely to receive, then it’s time to formally accept the commission. Unless you know the person extremely well, or have worked with them several times before, it’s a very good idea to draw up some sort of contract that you can both sign. The contract doesn’t have to be a complicated legal document, but just something that sets down the main particulars about the piece of art, the price you wish to receive for it, the timescale involved, and how you will deal with late payment or the possibility that they may change their mind about certain aspects of the work once it is underway.
It is quite usual to ask for an advance of about a third of the price of the piece at the start, and it’s a good idea to make this advance non-refundable. If your customer does decide to back out of the deal they need to understand that you have already invested time, effort and materials in the project.
It’s also quite usual for your customer to want to review the work periodically, but not daily, in order to see how it is progressing. Encourage this because, if something is starting to deviate from their expectations, the sooner you know about it and can rectify it the better. Always encourage feedback about the work and be prepared to accept some criticism along the way. Remember that you are producing this piece of artwork for them and to their expectations, and although you may have decided to do it differently yourself, the ‘customer is always right’ so they say.
Working to commission can be a fruitful experience that pays you well, and as long as you are able to be adaptable, flexible and communicative, it can be an excellent way to make money from your art, and even, if you’re lucky, to make a living out of it.
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