How to commission a portrait

This section will hopefully help answer any questions you may have when commissioning a portrait of your pet. I will cover things like sizes, whether you should choose a frame and why glazing matters, how to care for your portrait and tips on how to take the best reference photo of your pet for me to use. 

Pastel Pet Portraits 

My pastel portraits are created using pastel sticks, pan pastels and pastel pencils. The majority of the detail comes to life when using pastel pencils. I use Clairefontaine pastelmat paper when doing a portrait and I use the colour that best suits the pet in question, which will be part of commission discussions before starting. Why not check out my art supplies page to find out more on the equipment I use to create your piece! 

Things to consider...

Hopefully I will be able to answer all your questions here regarding a commission. Some things to consider are whether you wish the finished item to be fully framed or just mounted so you can frame later. Certain additions can make a portrait more expensive, however it does mean the stress of finding a framer who can handle pastel portraits will not be an issue. There are pros and cons which I will go through to help you make the best decision for your budget.

Should I Choose a Frame?

Personally I would recommend choosing a frame for your portrait as this means everything is taken care of. Your finished piece will be safely stored within the frame with appropriate glass and not subject to potential external factors that can damage a portrait.

However, that said it is perfectly fine to have a piece on mount board only, there will just have to be extra precautions taken whilst you decide on a frame and how to handle the piece in the meantime, as everyone's décor is different.

As a minimum, ALL portraits will arrive with a chosen colour of mount that compliments the chosen colour of pastelboard.

More About Mounting...

As mentioned, all portraits will be mounted as a bare minimum. 

So how is this chosen for my portrait? The mount choices will be discussed and agreed upon before completion as different pet colourings will mean putting together the best colour of pastelmat and mount that allows your family pet to be star of the show. I want my customer to feel involved in the process as much as possible so your final piece feels more meaningful.    

Why Does Glazing Matter?

Can I not just buy a cheap frame for my portrait to save on costs? In short, not if you want to protect the longevity of your portrait. The reason being is that pastel is not usually a fixed media. What we mean by this is that if you were to rub it, it would smudge (think of a butterfly's wings). This is why it is imperative that you treat the piece correctly.

So why does glazing matter exactly? As pastel is a pigment powder art form, if you were to use cheaper acrylic plastic in place of a properly treated glass, it can create static electricity. This attracts all kinds of dust and other particles. You may have noticed when you have had to peel off the protective scratch layer on acrylic that it gives off that kind of fuzzy feeling as you peel it away? Well that can actually pull pastel off the paper over time and ruin a portrait.

This vulnerability is why it is important to also find a framer who knows how to handle pastel portraits. You would need to make sure that it is framed in something that comes with antistatic glazing.

 

Sizes

5 X 7 Inch (12 x 17 cm)

Described as a postcard size this is perfect for small animals or a good choice if you have a tight budget. This is also an ideal size if the only photograph to hand is of poor quality and not sharp as you can only do so much fine detail at this size.

7 x 9.5 Inch (18 x 24 cm)

This is an ideal size for head and neck studies of dogs and cats.

12 x 15.5 Inch (30 x 40 cm)

This is one of the biggest sizes I currently offer and makes a fabulous choice for multiple pets or full body portraits.