Got a Commission from the Charity Auction!

[Julie Deane]

Hi -

I'm just getting my feet wet, so this is a big step. I followed the advice I found at this site, and for the local art museum charity auction, donated a portrait to be done of the winner's choice. I used a painting some of you have seen (SKlyar - the finished oil piece) as my sample.

Well, the auction went well. I now have a commission! I just got the word, plus the name of the people to contact. This hopefully will be the beginning of getting my name known in the community. Although it is a small town, there are many folk who have moved up from Atlanta. The community has lots of rich members and a strong commitment to the arts.

Anyway, I could use your help. Here's my game plan - please make suggestions if you think I could do things a better way.

I will have my price list ready, in case they want to upgrade the size. If they want an additional person, I will add 50% to what they paid, plus a fee for a larger canvas if necessary.

I will contact them to set up a meeting. and see the person to be painted. Get particulars like clothing, setting, no. of people, any additional fees taken care of. Set up a photo session date.

There is one small commission for a friend ahead of them, plus I am getting into the busiest season at school. Is it appropriate to explain the circumstances and give them a date within a few weeks for the photo session - by March 28th? Then during spring break (April 5-9) I can do my sample drawing as well as color studies and meet again for their approval of the composition. Since I have a very tough end-of-school year with loads of paperwork, I don't think I could finish their painting before the middle of May at the earliest. This painting should be no larger than 24 x 36.

Anyway, I'm excited but nervous. Any helpful comments welcome.

[Chris Saper]

Great news!

You can decide what schedule works for you; your client will readily understand. I think it is really important to meet your deadlines, so be very sure the schedule is comfortable for you.

If the client has not already seen your price list, you should possibly rethink the 50% notion. Every commission painter I have met agrees that multiple subjects should command a premium, not a discount.

The discount you want to charge is reasonable, in my opinion, if the subjects are to painted on separate canvases. Once you are required to combine photo resources, the complexity is logarithmic. Still it has to be your decision.

It is perfectly OK to be busy enough to control your own schedule, and I am not sure it matters what exactly you are busy doing. That being said, I think also that you should try to strike a balance in accomodating clients' needs for deadlines, as long as they seem sound.

However, the client who comes out of the blue and demands a portrait by next Wednesday is much more probably a big problem Only you can judge.

[Michele Rushworth]

Good for you! Charity auctions built my portrait career, and now you're off to a good start, too.

I would also caution you in your pricing, however.

If they want an additional person, I will add 50% to what they paid, plus a fee for a larger canvas if necessary.

"What they paid" could turn out to be very little indeed, when compared to whatever you had set as the "retail value" of your item. The winning bidder could get themselves a terrific deal and actually only pay a fraction of your "retail value" at the auction. It all depends on how the auction committee set up the minimum bid, and how many bidders there were.

It would be much more effective to base the price of any second person on some percentage of your regular rate, not on a percentage of what they paid at the auction.

And I also second Chris's opinion: putting two or more people on a canvas increases the complexity immensely!

[Julie Deane]

Thanks so much for your help. This will definitely be a learning experience. They are getting a bargain, but if they add the second person, at least I am getting something financial out of it, instead of being a complete freebie. Unfortunately, they have already contacted me,
I gave them a price and I didn't get back online in time to read your messages. Sure wish I had now....it's hard for me to get the confidence to go for full price.

[Mary Sparrow]

Congratulations Julie! I did a charity auction back in the fall and got "one" commission from it. A few months passed by and nothing else happened and just yesterday I had my biggest "order" day ever.
I got NINE commission commitments! Thinking back, it all stemmed from that little auction. So watch out, it just might have a mushroom effect on you too!

[Michele Rushworth]

Fantastic, Mary! Nine in one day -- that's amazing.

Julie, my first few commissions were priced way below market value, too. That's how word of mouth gets started sometimes. I donated to nine high end charity auctions over the last two years. About half of the auctions I've done have led to other business afterwards, while others have not ... yet. Almost all of them gave me at least some income, with the winning bidders upgrading either a little or a lot.

You'll get a mixed bag of results: One auction led me to meet one of the very wealthy founders of Microsoft, good friends of Bill Gates. I painted their daughter and they have four more kids whose portraits they want me to do when they get older.

However, there were also two auctions where the winners decided not to go ahead and get anything done at all. Turned out that what they had in mind involved paying to upgrade and they didn't want the additional expense. That happens sometimes.

I'm done with auctions for now since I currently have about a year and a half waiting list, almost all of which is full price work (many of which came to me as referrals from other auction clients).

So, Julie, if this auction doesn't lead to new business for you, you may want to try another one, and another one. Just be sure the auctions you pick are all bringing in people who can truly afford oil portraiture, and therefore who have friends who can afford it too. There are high end auctions and low end ones. I have found the best results from private school auctions since I paint mostly kids and the attendees are all parents of school age children.

I looked at those auctions I did as a way for me to get paid at least something to learn on the job, with real clients and real models and then to have real portfolio pieces to show for it at the end.

I owe Stanka Kordic a big thanks for encouraging me, on SOG, to try auctions in the first place!

[Mary Sparrow]

Thanks Michele, it couldn't have been better timing. However iy sounds a little grander than it is, 6 came from one woman wanting all of her grandchildren done and they will just be head and shoulders.

However this was apparently discussed at some bridge luncheon and now a pile of grandmothers may follow suit . The other three are from one mother.

Julie, I have had similar experiences as Michele. Some auctions seemed to lead nowhere and some, like this last one, were well worth it.

[Julie Deane]

It is so nice to hear all the success stories. (Congratulations, Mary!)
Hearing about the duds - doesn't sound that bad, compared to all the other commissions. I had never thought about private school auctions, but I will definitely check into that.

I'm getting so burnt out with school speech therapy that I am seriously considering going to part-time and supplementing with just enough private therapy to get by and leave time for more art. Your posts give me an extra incentive to consider taking this option.

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Julie,

Congratulations! Like Chris, Mary and Michele, I also have donated to charity auctions. I think it's a good way to get your name out there in the community.

I just wanted to add that it helps to have actual portrait samples to show clients when they are contemplating a portrait. (This means having them on display when your client comes to you, or bringing a painting or two when you visit the client.) Generally, people have a hard time visualizing what a real painting is like. You may have a portfolio of photographs of your work, too, but nothing beats the physical presence of real art. This is a good argument for spending one's free time painting family members and keeping them around for a while. (The paintings, not the family members. )

Let us know how this commission goes. Have confidence that you can make your client look wonderful and you'll transmit this zeal to her at your meeting. You'll do fine!

[Julie Deane]

Thanks, Linda -

I wish I had more samples. I'm so new at this that I only have a few. I just got back into painting last year, and for a while I did still lifes until I felt more confident.

So I only have a few portrait samples and only one of a child, which they have seen. I don't really want to get on a website to show them others' work, more out of insecurity than anything else (what if they see something they like and want it cloned? I want some creative say in the process). So - I will show them what I have, and do an extensive interview to get an idea of what the mom wants. Whoops - this brings up up another matter - the grandparents are footing the bill. So - I guess it's their call, right? I sure hope this family can agree on what they want. I suppose I will need to know who gets the final say, but how do you diplomatically ask such a thing?

Originally Posted by Linda Brandon

Hi Julie,

Congratulations! Like Chris, Mary and Michele, I also have donated to charity auctions. I think it's a good way to get your name out there in the community.

I just wanted to add that it helps to have actual portrait samples to show clients when they are contemplating a portrait. (This means having them on display when your client comes to you, or bringing a painting or two when you visit the client.) Generally, people have a hard time visualizing what a real painting is like. You may have a portfolio of photographs of your work, too, but nothing beats the physical presence of real art. This is a good argument for spending one's free time painting family members and keeping them around for a while. (The paintings, not the family members. )

Let us know how this commission goes. Have confidence that you can make your client look wonderful and you'll transmit this zeal to her at your meeting. You'll do fine!