Posthumous miniature

[Heidi Maiers]

Here's a recent miniature to share. Posthumous are always a challenge since it is very rare to ever get a profile shot of the person. When people are captured by a camera, it's always a variation of a front view unless a profile shot is intentional - which is never the case unless posing for a portrait bust commission!

Normally, I don't put on lashes or show teeth, but they were requested in this case because they were a big part of her character.

Anyway, the little head is 3 inches and is made of polymer. This customer has ordered 3 little minis, but after I complete these, I plan to stop offering them. They can take almost as long to make as a full size bust, but because of their size, I can only charge a fraction of the cost.

[Mischa Milosevic]

Heidi, I am sure that they will be well pleased with the result. Well done!

[Chris Saper]

Wow, Heidi,

How do you DO that!? Fabulous! Thanks for posting!

And just because it's small doesn't mean it should priced any less.

[Lacey Lewis]

Beautiful!

I can't believe that you were able to come up with this just from 'available' photos. Of course, after seeing what you can come up with from your head, I shouldn't be so surprised.

[Heidi Maiers]

Thanks Mischa, the client was very happy with it and so far, and has ordered several busts (miniature and full size) which will keep me busy for a while.
Chris, probably as in painting, most of the time is spent in working out the likeness. Aren't small portrait paintings generally a lot less money?
Lacey, you have quite the imagination yourself - I see all the unique paintings you come up with and post over at Artists Guild.

Here is the second bust I started yesterday. It is the same woman, only much older this time. Looks a little scary without eyes - will add those today. It's best to get the surrounding bone and socket right first to save yourself a lot of rework if you put them in too early.

[Chris Saper]

Dear Heidi,

It is so interesting to hear a sculptor's perspective!

I guess I would say, at least for me, that an enormous amount of time goes into figuring out the composition..then the next big chunk of time goes into working out the values..the last chunk of time is in executing the details and likeness.

You needs for composition must be so different - you have to compose against "space" and it has to work 360 degrees.

And no, small l portraits typically don't cost less than larger portraits - you'll most commonly find them priced by body parts - as a proxy indicator of the relative time and complexity involved. I don't charge any differently for a small head/shoulder/ than a life size head/shoulders. I charge more with hands, etc, regardless of the figure/canvas size.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Heidi,

These are fascinating as a character study. Are you going to sculpt her at three different ages? It struck me that it would be interesting to see her as a child and a teenager, too.

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Lovely, really well felt pieces.

You should charge by the time it takes to do a piece, not by the size, I think. It's your intelligence and sensitivity as an artist clients are paying for, and not just the amount of material you use (but I've sold things for under $100 when they are worth over $300 just to get a sale and to give my work a home).

Always looking forward to more posts by you, Heidi.

[Heidi Maiers]

Thanks for your input Chris, Alexandra, and Thomasin.
Chris, I tend to agree that charging by the inclusions sounds like a reasonable way to price a portrait

[David Carroll]

Very nice. Are you going to patina the polymer?