Standard Instructions for House Portraits (Part I)

Standard Instructions When Commissioning a House Portrait (Part I)

Reference Photographs
It's important for me to get to "know" the property, especially if I cannot be there to do the shooting myself. When shooting, imagine that you are taking me on a tour. If your property has any barns or outbuildings, be sure to shoot them too, especially in relation to the house.

When surveying your property, think about the composition that you would like to have painted. While straight on is common, very often a view from the side with a glimpse of the back and surrounding landscape makes a more interesting painting.

Send the photos to me. Standard 4x6 is fine. Everything will be returned to you once the painting is completed. If you have a digital camera, you can send along many many jpg pictures.

Sketches
I will review all the pictures and do one or two rough sketches that I think are good compositions for your painting. Make sure you let me know your preferences, for example:

seasonal preference (I can change seasons if you like)
certain things that are in the photos removed
other things added (I've added bikes, old fashioned cars, mailboxes, street lamps, signs, etc.)
your ideas about the composition
size of your painting
anything you can think of that would enhance and personalize your painting

I'll then send the sketches to you. This is where a computer can really speed up the process because I can send you the sketch as an attachment, and you can get right back to me with a go/no-go, or modifications. Otherwise, I will mail copies of the sketches to you, and then we can confer by phone once you have seen them. We'll do this until you are really happy with the composition and you give me the go ahead to start the painting.