Once you’ve determined that you would like a custom work of art, we’ll arrange a meeting here at the studio, at your home, or over the telephone, at which time, we will explore how you are envisioning this piece. We’ll discuss the type of work (drawing, painting or sculpture);  the scale of the work; and where you’d like to place it once it’s created. We’ll decide on clothing and background within the work, as well as the mood of the piece.

I will collect the down payment, and we’ll schedule a photo session. (If this is a posthumous piece, you’ll provide me with reference photos at this time. It is helpful to know about the person, so I will ask questions about who they were, and what they loved to do. Knowing about them will help me capture them when I’m working.) At the photo session, I will take a number of photographs in a variety of poses. I will select my favorites and from them you will be asked to select yours; this will give us a core group of reference photos.

Following the selection process, we’ll arrange for the first sitting, at which time the subject will come to the studio to pose. In some cases, the client is too busy to come for sittings at my studio. If this is the case, when I come for the photo session I will make "color notes" of their skin, eyes and hair, as well as notes on the garment. In all cases, it is very nice if the garment can be loaned, as a reference, until the completion of the work. A sitting usually lasts 2 1/2 to 3 hours, with short breaks. When you arrive, we’ll talk for a few minutes until you’re comfortable, and then I’ll use my full powers of concentration to bring you to life on canvas or in clay (the bronze process begins with a clay bust). I will continue to work on the piece in between sittings. The number of sittings required varies.

Once the work is complete, you may either view the portrait at the studio, or if you are at a distance, I will email you an image of the final painting for your approval. Once you’ve approved the work, and paid the balance, you may either pick up the piece in person, or I will have it shipped to you in secure packaging. Bronze work is approved in the clay form, prior to casting at the foundry. The second portion of the payment is due when the clay is approved, the balance is due before shipping of the final piece.