I know that commissioning a portrait seems daunting: finding the right artist, not knowing the lingo to express your vision, being unfamiliar with the process and what questions to ask. I get it.

But I make it really easy. Just reach out and I’ll guide you through the process. I’ll take your ideas and craft you an exceptional piece of art: Solo portraits, groups, pets, historical figures — we’ll work together to create your new, favorite thing.

So, what’s the process?

First, we’ll chat — a few emails back and forth to get started — and I’ll ask you general questions about size, style, color palette, number of subjects, budget etc. For the most part, I do traditional and stylized portraits, but I have considerable experience with pop-art style portraits and boudoir portraits. Beyond that, I am open to any and all requests. If your request and my skill set don’t align, I’ll try to point you in the right direction.

Then after the initial consultation, I’ll write up a proposal and send it to you. If the proposal fits your needs, I’ll send over a contract, reserve a spot in my calendar for you, and I’ll get to work.

I work almost exclusively from reference photos. Maybe you already have the perfect photo that you’d like me to use for your painting; I encourage that. But if not, I’ll give you some tips as to what makes a good reference photo. And if it’s to be a group portrait, I can composite subjects from different reference photos into the final work.

The paintings below are not commissioned works — I don’t like to post those for clients’ privacy. The images below are to show my skill level, and to give a sense of my artistic style. If you want to see additional views of any of these paintings, clicking the images will take you to the shop listing.

Contact me to get your painting started. A few other notes about commissioned works here. Talk to you soon.

- Justin