Do you want your own painting or drawing?
This page gives details of how to commission an original artwork from John.
Make Contact
You can phone, e-mail or text John. Please include your telephone number so that he can give you a call back for an informal chat to discuss your requirements.
In that first conversation, you’ll be able to talk about what it is you want (size, subject matter, how much you’re looking to spend) and John will give you the options in terms of media (gouache, pastels or pencil), timescale and cost (whilst bearing in mind your budget).
*Please note, the following:
John will only give you a ball park figure in your initial conversation.
He’ll ask you for an email address when you speak and send a written quote within 24 hours.
He does not offer discounts.
John works for you, under contract!
John works with a professionally written contract which outlines all that you have discussed about your commission and which is signed by both parties.
This gives you, the client, and John, something concrete that you can both rely on in terms of what you are going to get and the price you pay.
The price will be agreed before the work is started and that price will be honoured, regardless of the time involved.
If you would like to see a sample contract please ask and John will email it across.
Except in exceptional circumstances, work won’t commence until this agreement is in place.
Commission subjects
John’s commissions over the years have included: dog, cat and equine portraits; family groups and individual portraits; newlywed couples; paintings of public houses and house portraits; as well as architectural & topographical series of paintings.
In fact, John will produce a painting on any subject or theme
How long will it take?
As you can see, John’s painting & drawing style is very true to life. All artworks are labours of love for John and it takes many, many hours of meticulous work to complete a single piece of work. This means that the timescale depends upon what’s involved in the piece of work you are asking for as well as how fully his commission diary is booked.
John will always advise you if your painting cannot be started immediately; that way, you always know where you stand with me from the start.
Out of respect for you as a customer, John won’t give you an unrealistic completion date which he cannot meet. For example, if you wanted something to be ready in a few days or a couple of weeks, he will usually have to tell you that this is not going to be possible because of the hours that are involved. He will always advise you early on in our discussion whether or not he can start something straight away or whether there will be a delay before he can begin.
How much will it cost?
A price will be agreed before the work is started and that price will be honoured, regardless of the time involved. John does not charge an hourly rate.
John’s cheapest work would be a pastel drawing at A5 and the price would increase from there; dependent upon the size you require and the medium used. A pastel drawing is the most economic option, because the hours involved in producing a work in pastels are, in most cases, less than the other mediums I use regularly .
A non-refundable initial deposit of 20% of the overall cost is payable at the beginning of the job, with the the remainder payable upon delivery.
Should you not be happy with the end result – a situation which has never arisen – then you would not pay the due balance and John would retain the artwork.
Should you wish John to frame the work for you, he can do that and this would be charged on top of the painting together with any shipping costs if you do not live within a certain radius of where he lives.
What mediums does John use?
John works mainly in pastels, pencils and gouache with pictures in gouache taking the longest time and therefore being the most expensive to produce.
Your peace of mind
Please be assured that John always takes a real pride in his work and demands only the highest possible standards of himself.
His maxim has always been to aim for a happy and 100% satisfied customer and this has always been achieved.
Copyright on artwork
With regard to copyright, any artist as originator of any piece of artwork, including a commission, retains copyright in the work together with all rights to reproduce it as Limited or Open Edition prints, reproductions, cards etc.
Prints, reproductions and cards
In recent years, John has made a digital scans of his artworks and commissions before handing the finished items over to the customer. This means that reproductions can be produced without needing further access to the original.
Obviously for very personal commissions such as family or individual portraits, these would not be publicly available as prints, though John reserves the right to use any of his paintings to publicise his services unless a customer has specifically requested otherwise.