Nocturne with Ember
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Commissions
A painting made for your wall
Six commissions a year. That's the whole slot, and it usually fills by spring. Each one is a new painting made for a specific room and the light that room actually gets.
Every commission starts blank. It gets built around your wall and what you want it to hold, closer in spirit to Ochre Field than to a reproduction of anything already hanging in the gallery.
The first email costs nothing and commits you to nothing. I'll tell you straight if you'd be better off buying a piece that already exists.
How commissions work
Five steps, no surprises. You see the painting twice while it's underway, and nothing ships until you've approved the finished thing.
Inquiry
Tell me what you have in mind: the room it'll live in, a rough size, a budget range, and a palette if you already have one. Photos of the wall help more than anything else you can send. The form at the bottom asks for all of it.
Concept & quote
I reply within three working days. If it's a fit, you get a fixed quote and a start date in writing. No hourly rates, no scope creep later. Nothing's committed yet.
Deposit
A 50% deposit confirms the commission and books your slot in the studio schedule. The balance falls due once the painting's finished, before it ships.
Work in progress
You see the painting twice while it's underway: once at the underpainting stage, once near the end. Each time there's room for one round of direction.
Delivery
The finished painting gets varnished and photographed properly, then ships insured with a signed certificate of authenticity. Canvases arrive wired and ready for the wall.
Timeline
Most commissions take six to ten weeks from deposit to delivery. Oil needs its drying time and I won't rush that part. If you're working to a fixed date, say so in the first email and I'll tell you honestly whether it's possible.
Pricing
Works on paper start around $600. Stretched canvas and linen start at $1,400, large-format pieces at $3,000. The final quote depends on size and how complicated the surface gets. Shipping is quoted with it, before you pay any deposit.
What I take on
Abstract and landscape-rooted paintings, tuned to a particular wall or palette. What I turn down: portraits and pets, plus anything that asks me to paint like somebody else. If that's what you're after, say so and I'll point you at someone better suited. The gallery is a fair guide to where my range stops.
A sense of the range
Commissioned work lands in the same territory as these three. Gesso Study IV is 22 × 30 in on paper; Nocturne with Ember is 60 × 36 in on linen. Most commissions sit somewhere between.
Common questions
- How does shipping work?
- Every commission ships tracked and insured, worldwide. Works on paper travel flat or in a tube; canvases get boxed or crated depending on size. Shipping is quoted with the commission, so nothing lands as a surprise at the end.
- Does the painting come framed?
- Canvases and linen arrive with finished edges, wired and ready to hang. Most collectors leave them unframed. Works on paper ship unframed too, though if you'd like framing I can arrange it at cost through my framer before it goes out.
- Can I ask for changes?
- There's room for one round of direction at each work-in-progress stage, usually palette or weight. What I won't do is repaint a finished piece into a different painting. You're commissioning my eye as much as the surface it sits on.
- What if the finished painting isn't right for me?
- It rarely happens, because the work-in-progress stages exist to catch it early. If the finished piece still isn't right, you're not obliged to take it. The deposit covers materials and studio time, and nothing further is owed.
Start your commission
Tell me about the piece you have in mind. It takes about five minutes to fill in. I read every inquiry myself and reply within three working days, even when the answer is no.