Dealing with Rejection
 

I recently finished an oil commission which I thought was nice, but was flatly rejected by the customer. She was "shocked" by the JPEG image of the portrait I sent her for approval. She was not prepared to see herself. She did not mention the half down, but simply asked me not to send it. I have several thoughts.

First, I have a rather poor camera, and should have sent her a better image taken by a professional. Perhaps it is too late for that now. First impressions are hard to change.

Second, I will be nitpicking over this painting until it is ruined probably in the hopes of improving it.

Third, I am not too terribly troubled by it, as I usually have terrific responses from my customers, and have enough confidence in my work to not be too disturbed by this. However, it is troubling when you have a disappointed customer on an oil portrait. It is a little more than just a ten minute sketch which is of little consequence.

Fourth, I took this commission down payment before seeing the reference photo, which was not perfect. I now am in the mindset to only paint from my own setup which will guarantee most favorable results.

Hindsight is better than foresight, and I will probably see her this summer when she returns to Eugene. Possibly she will like it better when she sees it in person.

I know that even the great historic artists faced rejection. Is there anyone out there who can cite a few?

Rembrandt...

The infamous Sargent's Madame X.

I've been there and it's a tough painful lesson. Unless she becomes a better communicator, you will never know the real reason she rejected your efforts. Try to laugh on your way to the bank...the ball is now in her court and it is up to her to take the next step. You'll know better next time to get a good reference photo or nix the job.

I had a portrait blow up in my face too. It was a woman who came to me and wanted her adult daughter painted. She told me how four other portrait artists (and they were good ones) had "failed." I should have smelled a rat, but I gave it my best shot and got what I thought was a good likeness. She hated the picture. She practically shouted that her daughter looked like a "spoiled brat" and then she stomped off. Somehow "spoiled brat" didn't really tell me why she disliked the painting. I kept the downpayment as she did not ask me to return it. Now she has five "failed" artists that I know of to complain about, a lot less money in her bank account and no portraits to hang on her wall.

As to some other artists who got rejected:
All the impressionists.
Me.

Actually, it probably hits the nail right on the head.

Thank you, dear friends.

Here is the painting.

Closer

Lon, It looks good to me, but can we take a peek at the reference photo she originally sent you?

Lon,

I too think this is pretty good, certainly no wild stylized aspects that would "shock" someone.

Sometimes people get themselves into a financial bind, and instead of having to explain this embarrassing circumstance, they save their own face by taking offense at your work.

Lon, at least you now have what looks to me to be a very nice sample that you can display when promoting your work. (That is, if the client doesn't live nearby and would be likely to say unpleasant things if, say, she saw it hanging in the local library.) Did you have her sign a model's release so that you own rights to her image?

If you're up for it, perhaps posting the painting and the reference in the critique section might be helpful, as Karin suggested.

Lon--

Never had one outright rejected, but have had some that were lukewarmly received. And I have found myself once in the most ungodly, dysfunctional situation I've ever seen, but that was a seed sown and watered heavily with Southern Gothic familial aberration long before I showed up. It was a posthumous piece commissioned by a firm of a partner that had died suddenly only a few months before. Photo reference was scant and not very good. I pulled a rabbit out of my hat, but the family still tore into the piece. Fortunately the firm was the client, not the family, and when the piece was publicly unveiled, one of the partners remarked that my painting looked "more like him than he did." But it sticks in my craw of course that the family will never be satisfied. If you're dedicated and professional, how could it not?

My sixth sense would have scared me off of yours, if four painters had tried and "failed." But I know how it is, no one ever wants to say no. But from what I see, the work is not unflattering in the least, not at all deserving of such a heated response. I think your client's reaction speaks volumes about her, not your effort.

I don't think one can do portrait work and not experience this at some time. I fully expect a painting to be refused at some point. But if it helps, whenever I get roughed up, the universe sends one on the heels of it that is pure joy from beginning to end.

Hang in there!

Well, thanks guys, I know it ain't no Rembrandt.

I will admit that I rather hoped to overcome some reference flaws. The teeth and eyes in the reference were bizarrly blurred. (Rather important elements to take a risk with.)

I should have called for further photos. You can't ask yourself to do more than the reference gives you.

Your words of encouragement are very kind.

That reference photo is problematical but I am impressed that you did as well as you did with it.

If ever she comes back with another photo so you can have another "try," I would suggest that you ask for 1/2 of the remainder of the money that she owes you before you begin your second painting.

It is the nature of some people to be chronic malcontents. And this way you won't get stuck for the materials you used plus doing two paintings worth of work...for a paltry 1/3 of the fee.

I work hard to please a client but I ask for 50% of the fee up front in order to begin a portrait. This way I get hurt less if I have put in endless hours on a painting only to get flatly rejected for no good reason.

Terrific advice, Karen - another 1/4th payment. I would only touch this one up, and not repaint a second painting. I collect half down up front for oils with a no-refund policy written down in the contract.

Tom, you were right about another joyous work on the heels of the failure. I had a terrific weekend of drawing. I was swamped with charcoal portraits and delighted customers, making as much money as the balance owed on the painting. Only I do not credit it to the universe. I really love the satisfaction level of the quick sketch, not only esthetically, but also in customer satisfaction.

Michele, I have never used a "model's release" for showing my work left behind. If they do not buy it, it is mine, I have presumed. I will do that in the future.

I will undoubtedly use this painting fo reference, since she lives in Japan and will not use it against me locally.

I remain hopeful that she will like it when she sees it in person.

Here's a bit more information about model's releases. They basically protect you on the legal "privacy" issues associated with using someone's likeness.

You, of course, own the painting, since she hasn't paid in full for it. And even after a painting is sold, you still own the copyright of the painting, of course.

Model's releases are different. They give you permission to use the person's likeness, either to exhibit any image you painted publicly, to put it on your website, or in any other marketing materials, if you wish.

I include a model's release section in my contract, basically giving me permission to use their likeness as part of my marketing efforts. Without that release, I could be sued, even if I own the painting and own the copyright.

Thank you so much, Michele. You are a pro. Karen, Tom and Mike, I appreciate you, too.

Revenge of the Artist!
 

Lon,

Ah, REJECTION! Below is a little piece I did about ten years ago as a commission. It's a pendant in marquetry a la Boule. The light part of the Least Tern is in silver, cut as a single piece from a silver dollar using a jeweler's saw. The rest of the pendant is in Corian and another polymer that I cooked up myself. It was done as a birthday gift for the significant other of the man commissioning it. When she saw it she flipped out; turns out she had a phobia about birds! (the Hitchcock movie, maybe?) Naturally, the man who commissioned it claimed that he knew about the phobia all along, and that he'd really told me he wanted a sailboat! Well, there wasn't much money involved, so I did another pendant with a sailboat and got paid and that was the end of the matter. They say the customer is always right, but I always thought this piece was far superior to what they wound up with, phobias notwithstanding.

With a portrait, on the other hand, there is always the possibility of seeking revenge. Sometimes we fail to realize that, as artists, we have a certain amount of power, limited though it may be. A few years ago I read an article (in the Wall Street Journal, I think) about portrait artists. One of the anecdotes was about an Italian painter who had labored for some 200 hours (a year's work) on a group family portrait. The piece was rejected on presentation, leaving her short the equivalent of $ 26,000 in final payment. Having little recourse for collection, but still owning the painting, she was considering spending a few more hours repainting the grandmother in the nude and exhibiting the painting for sale in her next show at her commercial gallery. That might be professional suicide, but, oh, how satisfying!! :cool:

Which raises another absolutely essential point....Never, EVER, go to the final canvas without having a client sign off on a commission agreement with price and specs in writing, AND initialing off on a small rough color study. Then, if they say "No, I said I wanted Uncle George on Aunt Sadie's left, and you put him on the right," you've got their signature on the rough. Any client who balks at doing this is maybe someone you want to bill for your out-of-pocket expenses (if any) to that point, and back off from.

Here's what I do, as far as getting sign-offs.

I meet with the client first to discuss what they had in mind (size, composition, estimated price, etc.) Thirty percent of the total commission price is due when I show up to do the photo shoot.

When the photos are back, I choose a few suitable ones and have the client initial the one or ones they choose. I also present them with a sketch of the composition, which I also have them initial.

I then fill out the contract with the client's final decisions regarding size and price. (It's not always possible for the client to know if they will want a three-quarter pose or a full length pose until they see the photos.) If the pose will be a full length and they only paid me a deposit on a three-quarter pose, for example, the rest of the deposit is due at that time.

Then I go and start the painting. I should probably do a color study for the client to approve before beginning the painting but I haven't done that so far.

When I present the painting, I also present an invoice for the remaining balance due.

Good advice, all. I will have to ponder the revenge, however, John. ;)

A couple of thoughts --

On the copyright/model issues, the contract will trump the presumptions in the statutes (assuming of course that the contractual provisions are legal). My point is that, like probate, you can either specify what you want to happen (by Will [or contract]) or the government will do it for you. One is more fun for everyone, usually.

I sold a lot of work to the children's magazine, "Highlights". Their contract rather uniquely (in that business) specifies that they get everything, including copyright. I was happy with that at the time. But when one of my stories got picked up for an anthology, Highlights got the dough. I wasn't terribly unhappy about that (it was still my story, my byline, and my publicity), but I've never been embarrassed to cash a check and would have been happy to do so again, even if on residuals.

The other matter: Lon, if you think it would help, post the image of your painting, together with the reference photo, in our Critiques section. Perhaps nothing useful will come of it, but perhaps a small handful of tips will make all the difference for this client and your story will turn out happily and instructively for all who are following it.

Cheers

Revenge is childish and unprofessional...fun to fantasize about when you're hurting, but don't do it! The "grandmother scenario of public humiliation" described earlier would not only be in violation of good taste - but probably the basis of a lawsuit against the artist.
Prudishly yours,
Karin

I was kidding when I said I would "ponder " the revenge comment. Vengence does not belong to men. There is no need for it here, anyway.

Men have no vengence?
 

Remember: "**** hath no fury like a woman scorned"! Guess we get all the revenge. :o

Jean

"Vengence is mine, saith the Lord."

Hi Lon
 

I have yet to have a client reject something, but I have had to respond to a client's disappointment with their image in a portrait. Luckily, it was expressed at an "interim" review of the painting, so to revise her in the painting was not felt like a crisis for anyone. I had to revise her to look like what she felt she looked like, not what she literally looked like.

I'm sure men have these feelings too, but we women can sure be sensitive about our "faults" - to the point that it's too embarrassing to even bring it up. I could be totally wrong here, but I get the impression from the photo that this woman is very short. If there would be any comment of the painting is that my first impression of it was it was of a "little person", as the body proportion, especially to the head, seems to convey that body type.

If this is the case, you could have accidentally emphasized a trait that she could be so sensitive about that she would rather scrap the project than talk to you about it.

Linda

Good point, Linda. I cannot really speculate, since she was not specific. I will wait until she sees it in person. In fact, I might have already corrected it, but I do not wish to send her any more images. Rather wait until she sees it in person. Thanks for the input!