frequently asked questions

1.What's the difference between a pastel portrait and an oil portrait?2. My dog has died and I only have poor photo's. Can you create a memorial portrait from this? And do you return the photo's? 3. How long will it take before I receive the work?4. I'd like to have a number of my pets together in the same portrait. Is a group portrait possible and if so how much would it cost? 5. Are the portraits framed?6. What happens if I'm not happy with the portrait?7.Can I ask for a custom portrait with features such as collars or scarfs?8. Do you paint anything else to commission? I.e. our house/garden etc.

4. I'd like to have a number of my pets together in the same portrait. Is this possible and if so how much would it cost?
It's perfectly possible to commission a group portrait!
I'm also commonly asked "I'd like a group portrait of my dogs, but I don't have a good photo of all of them together. What should I do?
It's actually very rare that I use just one photo for a group portrait.

Pet Portrait of four small dogs in pastel

"Pippin, Fluer, Chelsea and Benji"
(pastels, 2006)

To give you an idea, here's an example of a recent pastel commission for four small dogs together on 24" by 18" paper. The owner sent me several photos of each subject. I then selected a photo of each dog to work from so that the composition felt "balanced" i.e. with the dogs heads pointing in the appropriate directions etc.

Group portraits can also be commissioned as full body portraits with background. (The above example is a head and shoulder study). Featured below is a recent commission where the owner asked if her two collies could be seated together on a bench. I pieced the composition together from separate photos of each dog, and found a suitable bench as a backdrop.

"Together" (pastels, 2006)

Prices

To work out the cost, add £80 for each extra subject in pastels, and £100 for each extra subject in oils.

For example, if you choose a 16" by 12" pastel (£130) and wanted two dogs in the portrait, the total cost would be £210 (£130+£80).
Another example - a 24" by 18" full body portrait in pastels (£255) with four dogs. This would be £495 (£255+£80+£80+£80)
(please refer to the price list for the different media and size options). I recommend 16" by 12" and upwards for group portraits. Larger sizes are available on request.