Portrait Artist Forum - View Single Post

Margaret Port · 05-05-2005, 11:16 PM

Mary,
Because oils take so long to dry thoroughly, after you have taken off the ridges with a blade, you may be able to scrub into the area with some turps on a hard bristle brush and loosen some of the earlier older layers to get back to the canvas texture. It would depend on what media you are using as to how much you would shift.

I can sympathise with your predicament with your client. Some years ago I did a pastel sketch of a vivacious strawberry blonde woman for her to give her new husband as a wedding present. She wanted serious with darkish red hair with highlights, then smiled and cracked jokes throughout the sittings. She had streaky curly hair which came down over her forehead and then the ends flicked back. I had the work framed after she approved it, several weeks passed then he decided she looked too serious and could I please make her smile and more blonde. They must have brought the thing back half a dozen times for tinkering before I threw hands in the air and said enough is enough. I literally could not get another speck of pastel onto the piece. There is nothing like working for a committee. By the time you please them all, no one is happy with the piece, least of all the artist.
In my husband's business, the client asks for a particular job to be done, they are given a quote and told specifically what work will be done, then if they want more work done we write *EXTRA on the timesheets and they get billed accordingly.
You could write into your contract a price for the original painting and then $3000 extra per hairstyle change and $200 per pound for weight changes.
I wonder how our clients would like that????

05-05-2005, 11:16 PM	#6
Margaret Port Associate Member Joined: Jul 2002 Location: Cairns, Australia Posts: 98	Mary, Because oils take so long to dry thoroughly, after you have taken off the ridges with a blade, you may be able to scrub into the area with some turps on a hard bristle brush and loosen some of the earlier older layers to get back to the canvas texture. It would depend on what media you are using as to how much you would shift. I can sympathise with your predicament with your client. Some years ago I did a pastel sketch of a vivacious strawberry blonde woman for her to give her new husband as a wedding present. She wanted serious with darkish red hair with highlights, then smiled and cracked jokes throughout the sittings. She had streaky curly hair which came down over her forehead and then the ends flicked back. I had the work framed after she approved it, several weeks passed then he decided she looked too serious and could I please make her smile and more blonde. They must have brought the thing back half a dozen times for tinkering before I threw hands in the air and said enough is enough. I literally could not get another speck of pastel onto the piece. There is nothing like working for a committee. By the time you please them all, no one is happy with the piece, least of all the artist. In my husband's business, the client asks for a particular job to be done, they are given a quote and told specifically what work will be done, then if they want more work done we write *EXTRA on the timesheets and they get billed accordingly. You could write into your contract a price for the original painting and then $3000 extra per hairstyle change and $200 per pound for weight changes. I wonder how our clients would like that???? __________________ Margaret Port