A. There are many variables in pricing. I personally determine it by medium used, how much the person wants painted (just head, head and shoulders, full body), and most importantly, how clear the photo is to work from. (You can't imagine how many customers give me the most blurry pictures and expect miracles. Even in this day of digital photography, you'd be amazed.)
A. That depends on your personal preference, the size room you have available to show the work, what you can afford to have it created and also framing costs. Larger works require more labored hours.
A. First of all, oils, acrylic and pastels are all forms of paint, with pastels being at their most rawest of form. Oils and acrylics are done on canvas which is a larger cost than pastels which gets done on a specific type of paper. Oil and acrylic paint cost more than pastels and require brushes which also add to the cost. There are also mediums such as liquid, turpentine, etc which must be used with those brushes, not to mention brush cleaners! I will be happy to suggest depending on the photo reference!
Q. How much cost goes into painting?
A. Next time you're in an art supply store, look at the prices of different tubes of paint. They vary from $5 to $25 depending on the color needed. Brushes are very expensive and sadly, one brush doesn't do everything! Pastels are difficult to find by the single stick, most times you need to buy a whole set. Sets are not cheap! Over the years I have acquired many sets and I use them all. Pastels also require to be sprayed to preserve it, that cost too! Pastels also need special erasers, blending tools, and more. Needless to say, it all adds up.
Q. Should I do both pets (or humans) together?
A. I normally tell customers to have them done separately. Same thing with children. There are exceptions, as married couples like to be done together, and some parents request the portraits of both children together. If you have two dogs of the same breed, you may want them in the same portrait, know though you are billed for each pet! It varies with each portrait, and I take that all into consideration.
Q. How should I frame the completed work?
A. My biggest suggestion is to do your homework by going to galleries to see how portraits are framed. It depends on your home decor too, a modern home may look fine with a gallery wrapped canvas which I've painted on the sides, but in a Victorian home, it wouldn't fit in. My biggest concern is with pastels getting framed, as it MUST be under glass and it must be matted. If you don't matte a pastel painting, there will be a "ghostly" image on the glass, looking horrific. Call local art centers to see what they recommend. Visit frame shops and "pick their brains", ask questions! Remember, anytime you frame artwork you are preserving it.
Q. What was your biggest portrait nightmare?
A. Years ago, I did a portrait of two little girls, one was about four years old and the other was about a year old. The baby in the photo had the cutest little curl on top of her head which the customer didn't want put in the portrait. She also said her other daughter now has longer hair, can you make it longer? I can do both, no problem. When she came in for a consultation, she said the baby looked too old, and the little girl didn't look like herself. (I knew this was going to happen.) I offered to do the whole portrait over. She was okay with that. But, all I did was add in that little curl on top of the baby, and trimmed the older daughter's hair, and voilà she said it was perfect. Not too bad of a story for it being my worse encounter. I knew that baby's curl made her look younger!
Q. What was your most joyous portrait encounter?
A. First of all, I must say I have had a lot of them! I have been blessed with fantastic people to work with, but this one took the cake. I did a portrait of a dog, and the lady loved it. She got it framed and took it home. She placed it next to the couch and her dog went up to the painting, woofed at it, and then sat next to it all night long. I had the dog's approval!
Q. Can you add objects into a painting?
A. Sure! One lady told me she wanted a monarch butterfly between her dog's legs. I didn't ask why. Another customer talked to me and gave me full artistic license to do the portrait the way I felt was best. She told me how her dog was electrocuted by a neighbor's fence. (So sad.) She brought in his favorite tennis ball and asked if I could include it in the painting somehow. I did. While chatting with her, she reminisced on how the dog used to love to tear up the hibiscus bushes and they'd find him with them by his side all the time. Her and her husband told me, "He's probably up in Heaven tearing up God's hibiscus bushes." Suddenly a vision came in my brain. Simply what I did was paint the dog on a cloud, but with grass in the foreground where his paws were, but in the background I painted some hibiscus bushes. I placed the tennis ball between the dog's legs and some torn up hibiscus by the side of the dog. When they came in to pick up the portrait, they CRIED...it was so emotional, they said "You brought our dog back to life!" So yes, I can add items into a painting.
Q. How long does it take to do a portrait?
A. I'm 57 years old, I'd like to say it takes 57 years. But to answer the question, some go down rather easy, some take forever. With oils I must wait between layers, I have no option there! With acrylics, one layer will never do! If you want a background, that takes time. It also depends on how busy I am, certain times of the year are busier. I can do a portrait in two hours or less, and most would like it, but I'm finicky, and fastidious when it comes to accuracy and detail, so I take my time and don't rush your finished product while it is getting made. A tiger won't look like a tiger if the markings aren't correct. Also, remember there are millions upon millions of people in the world, and it is up to me to make the portrait look just like the person it is meant to look like...no pressure! (Actually, I enjoy the challenge.)
Q. If I have any more questions, can I contact you?
A. Absolutely. Here is my personal email which is the best way to reach me.
KathleenEKelly@comcast.net
How to frame pastels...
Above is a picture of a pastel painting of a lion. It was sprayed with workable fixative before framing. This protects the artwork and seals it a bit from the dust from the pastels from falling down on the mat at the bottom once framed. If you purchase art from me, I spray all my work before it is shipped out. People ask what's the big deal with that, well, there are a lot of framers out there that are clueless to the properties of pastel, and spray the artwork with fixative too close which results in making the work appear darker. Then there are framers out there (and my blood curdles when I think of this), who try to save money and spray it with hairspray, which is a shellac of sorts, and may, cause dots to appear on the work. I don't know about you, but after I do all that work, I'm not about to use an inferior product like hairspray!
If you don't mat a pastel painting, and lie it directly against glass, the glass will act like a magnet and collect the pastel remains and make a ghostly image on the glass and thus result in a horrific frame job! So make sure you use AT LEAST one mat on top of the pastel painting. Two is better, three as shown in this photo was just a personal choice, and then it also depends on the actual artwork and what it lends itself to.
On this particular painting, I decided to go with a bamboo style frame, which was a STANDARD size frame. I can't stress it enough, when you go to frame pastels, whether it's a portrait, landscape, still-life, always make the framer cut the mat to fit a standard sized frame. When ever you hear the words "We can make a custom sized frame for you." RUN! When you hear the word custom, that entails more money. Now if you don't care, go for it! Just know it is far easier to cut a mat than it is to have a custom frame made.
Glass or plexiglass? I've used both. Glass is far better. There are some art galleries out there that only allow plexiglass and the reason for that is it doesn't break like glass and for insurance reasons they prefer plexiglass. Only thing is plexiglass makes the work appear cloudy, and plexiglass will develop a streaky appearance over time, and any little scrape shows terribly. One positive thing is it is lighter in weight. It prices out about the same as glass. But clear glass is the best. Now, some framers will try to sell you on a new type of glass that is non-reflective, don't fall for it, or they may call it "Gallery quality"...just get regular glass. Keep it simple. Remember, frame shops are there to make money...your money.
I can't tell you where to get it framed, but I highly recommend pastels to be done by professionals. If you purchase an oil or acrylic painting, you can pop it in the proper type of frame (not the kind you put prints in or photographs, because remember, a painting has thickness so you need a frame which will hold the canvas). But pastels require more care. This is where the real cost comes into play. Sure pastels are cheaper on the onset compared to an oil painting or an acrylic painting, but framing them can be expensive if you don't do due diligence in learning what is the right way to do things. If you don't know, and don't want to be swindled by a framer (oh, I could tell you stories), call the local art center, ask to speak to a local artist who does pastel paintings. Be prepared though not all artists are so willing to share knowledge, but you may luck out and find one that will give you the time of day. Visit a gallery and ask there. (Museums most likely won't know.)
I hope this helped a bit. Once you do one or two, you'll get the hang of it. I just want to follow through the whole way, from concept of "I want to get a painting of my dog done" (or child), to showing you how it is created, clue you in on when it is shipped with a guarantee from UPS, and finally helping you learn about framing without getting ripped off. I want it to be a fantastic procedure for you. For most it's the first time, for me, I've done it a lot over the years, used many framers in many different cities, and they're all different, that's why I can't tell you what is best, they're all so different. All I can do is educate you! I can't tell you what color frame to use, or what size, as most times when even myself are going to get something framed, I have something in mind but once at the framers with all those fabulous mat board corners, I normally walk away with a whole different look then what I initially thought I'd have. Also, TRUST the framers because of two reasons, they do this every day, and they are seeing your artwork with a fresh eye. They normally do a very good job.
Most of all, when you have a pastel painting shipped to you in a tube, let it unroll naturally, which will be fast. When you do it slow, it may smear a bit. And I can't stress this enough, please do not roll it back up again. You are asking for a disaster! Also, pastel paintings are done on a special toothed paper, which if it gets wet, will be ruined. I will not ship work out if it is raining. Won't take the chance. If I know it's snowing on your end I will take extra precaution in mailing it out safeguarding it from the elements. When you receive your work, make sure the dog (or kids) don't slobber on it, that's moisture! My best suggestion is to undo it when you get it to the framer. That is the safest. After all, by time you've received it, you've seen it come to life from a simple drawing, through all the phases I put a painting through, to the completed work of art, it's not like you haven't seen it! Most times you are asked "who did this?" when you are getting it framed. Have my information available. I really appreciate any business you can get me, it helps me keep my prices low, passing the savings onto the customer makes me happy.
More than anything, if you love it tell everyone you know. If something is wrong, tell ME. I will make good for it. Not many artists will make that statement!!! I want you happy. That is why I keep you in the loop all the way through the process, at any time you can tell me if it's too dark, too large, too bright, whatever. You will receive the painting you desire by communicating with me, and I'm normally only an email away.
Thanks for reading all this!
