Each commission/pet portrait is personal, just like art itself! But the main part of creating your commission is choosing the layout or photograph that you feel best represents your beloved pet/companion which will be your finished captured moment.

Looking for artwork for commercial use or commissioned artwork with another theme, do get in touch. I have a couple of examples below, and have been commissioned by Colchester Zoo and Bob's Bitters to turn their cocktail creations into Artwork to display on their website, you can view these here, https://www.bobsbitters.com/cocktails or to go to my commissioned artwork page.

Some commissions are created from a collection/selection of photos and some are created with only a couple. 

There is no right or wrong way, it is a natural selection chosen or a matter of elimination to get to a main pose or photograph which is what is wanted to be recreated, depending on what you are looking for in their picture. Whether it is the main feature like the eyes, so you might go for a head and neck portrait or a nice crop, a memorable photo that means a lot (like this example here of the horse commission) or another aspect. We would discuss your photographs, if you are happy with everything in the photo or if some parts can be changed, removed or added. 

Maybe you are looking for the whole body with your pet's favourite toy or blanket to be included in the picture or the background to be a certain park or part of the garden so it is personalised to you or to whoever the picture is for. 

Going back to this horse commission. The client's photograph meant so much to them that they wanted this to be recreated in pastel but the photo had aged and some details had disappeared. Sadly, they had lost their horse so understandably it is hard, especially when an artist asks if you have any more pictures. Below are the three other photos I used for colour, reference and detail. Below the three, is the main photo they wanted recreated with the finished drawing beside it.

I always ask questions about your photo to check which aspects you want to keep in or adapt. With this particular commission I asked if they wanted the snow to be more detailed, they said yes, so I added more detail to add depth to the picture. 

They also asked me to whiten the snow and warm up the trees.

The one to one discussion helps me to create your picture and to include their characteristics and the colours you would like. For example, John Gee had a winter coat - the lady showed me the cut it should be, so you will notice the change from the photo reference and the finished drawing next to it. 

Clients can choose to add the name of their animal on the drawing or on the mountboard, with or without dates. Some clients have requested a saying or phrase, or a dedication to add to their picture.

I always ask the client if they would like to title/name their picture as this is written on their Certificate of Authenticity. A certificate comes with each commission.