[Chris Saper]

One of the biggest obstacles I see my students face in their commission work is that they start with inferior, doomed resource material.

I hear many reasons repeatedly:

"But the client insisted"
"But I needed the money"
"But that's all I had"
"But, but, but I am not responsible here"

These are all reasons to warn aforehand, that the portrait will fail, and that the artist is not responsible.

Think about it this way: If Sargent wouldn't attempt it, why in the world would any of us think we should?