ART COMMISSION

Getting started
Once you get in touch, we'll schedule a conversation to talk about your memory, your photographs, the size of the piece and where the artwork will live. You don't need to have everything figured out before we speak.

Proposal & deposit
After our conversation, I'll send you a written proposal outlining the size, approach, price and estimated timeline for your commission. A 50% deposit reserves your place on my studio calendar and allows me to begin. The remaining balance is due when the artwork is complete.

Reference material
You can share photographs, stories and other meaningful references with me. Depending on the commission, this might also include handwriting, patterns, fabrics or other fragments connected to the memory.

While I'm painting
I'll keep you connected to the process without asking you to make artistic decisions at every stage. Depending on the commission, I may share selected glimpses from the studio or invite your thoughts at one intentional point while retaining the artistic freedom needed to make the work.

Completion & delivery
When the painting is complete, we'll arrange your first look and delivery. Works can be carefully packed and shipped wired and ready to hang. Depending on the commission and your location, personal delivery and placement may also be available.

1. Tell me the story
We begin with a private conversation about the memory. Bring photographs if you have them, but I'm interested in what exists beyond the photograph too,the relationships, places, gestures and little details you still carry with you.

2. We find what matters
Together, we uncover the emotional center of the memory. Together, we uncover the emotional center of the memory. For some commissions, this may go deeper. Spending time with the people connected to it, looking through old photographs together, or returning to a meaningful place.

3. I take it into the studio
This is where I interpret what you've shared through my own visual language rather than reproducing a photograph literally.

4. The memory becomes a painting
As layers accumulate, disappear and reveal themselves again, details from your story may find their way into the work, A color, pattern, gesture or motif that may hold meaning only for you. For deeper commissions, even physical fragments from the memory itself may become part of the painting.
5. The work comes home
When the painting is complete, you experience the finished work as a whole. Depending on the commission and location, this may happen privately in my studio, virtually, or through a personal delivery and reveal.

Not at all. The photograph is only a starting point. An old snapshot, phone photo, several different photographs, or even an imperfect image can be enough. What matters just as much is the story you share with me about the person and the moment.

Yes. Often several photographs help me understand the person, relationship or period of time more fully. I may draw from different references rather than recreating one photograph exactly.

That's completely fine and actually preferred. You don't need to design the artwork. We'll talk about the memory, what feels important about it and where the piece will live. From there, I interpret your story through my own visual language.

You'll be involved in helping me understand the story, but you won't need to make artistic decisions at every stage. Depending on the commission, I may share selected glimpses from the studio or invite your thoughts at one intentional point while retaining the artistic freedom needed to make the work.

Yes. Depending on the commission, a meaningful detail might appear as a color, mark, pattern or motif.  For deeper commission experiences, we can also explore incorporating fragments such as fabric, handwriting, photographs or other personal materials when they are suitable for the artwork. I will determine the best way to incorporate them while considering the integrity and longevity of the piece.

Absolutely. We can work together to gather what I need without involving the recipient. If you'd like the person receiving the artwork to participate in the memory conversation, we can also find a way to reveal the commission earlier while keeping the finished painting a surprise.

Yes. Photographs, stories, letters, handwriting, meaningful objects and memories from family members can all help me understand the person beyond a single image. The intention isn't necessarily to create a traditional portrait, but to make a work that holds something of their presence and what remains with you.

Memory Sketches are approximatley 5"x5" framed in a 8.75"x8.75" floater frame. Humanscape commissions are available in a range of sizes depending on the artwork and the space where it will live. We'll discuss scale during our initial conversation. Larger custom sizes are also possible.

Memory Sketches begin at $400. Larger Humanscape commissions begin at $4000. After our initial conversation, I'll recommend an approach based on the size and depth of the commission and provide the full price before you decide to move forward.

For Memory Sketch, the 100% payment and for Humanscape Commission, a 50% deposit reserves your place on my studio calendar and allows me to begin. The remaining balance is due when the artwork is complete, before delivery or shipping.

Memory Sketches take about 2 weeks to complete. Humanscape commissions are completed within 8 weeks of the deposit. I'll confirm the expected timeline before you commit. If the artwork is intended for a birthday, anniversary or other important date, please let me know when you inquire. I'll try my best to accommodate.

Yes. We'll arrange a private first look at the completed work before it leaves my studio. Depending on the commission and where you live, this may happen virtually, in my studio or as part of a personal reveal.

Yes. Finished paintings can be carefully packed and shipped ready to hang. Shipping arrangements and any applicable costs will be outlined in your proposal. Personal delivery may also be available for certain commissions and locations.

Commissioning an original painting requires trust, and I want you to feel comfortable with that. Before I begin, we'll spend time making sure my work and approach are right for what you have in mind. If, when you see the finished painting, you truly feel it isn't something you can live with, we'll talk about it together. If we can't find a resolution, I will retain the artwork and refund your deposit.