email: astronomiser001@gmail.com
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Commissions.

If you have an idea for a painting and you think that I might be able to do it for you, then please get in touch and I will be happy to discuss.

Generally I will consider painting just about anything and focus mainly on the following:

• Portraits of family, friends and people you admire
• Portraits of some pets, e.g., cats, dogs, rabbits etc.
• Landscapes either from your own photos or copyright free sources, or a source where you have permission for a painted copy.

Available options for materials and sizes and guide prices.

Payments for sketches and drawings should be made in advance. For paintings, I ask for half of the commission price as a non-refundable deposit before I start, and half on completion, prior to despatch.

Sketch on A5 80gsm paper.

Paper used for small sketches is A5 80gsm (printer paper). A sketch is usually done over an hour or so from a photo and is best suited to portraits of people and pets, though I'm happy to draw just about anything. I started going to my local pub on the ocassional afternoon to practice my sketching because the lighting's better in there (ahem, yes, good lighting - that's it) and customers started offering me drinks for sketches and this has caught on, but isn't good for my liver so I decided to offer this option from home as a commission.

Sketches are done freehand from photos. If you are after a pencil piece but want something larger and more accurate, see drawings below.

A sketch like this should be framed in a poster type frame with a glass or perspex cover and should be hung away from direct sunlight.

You should avoid touching the surface or allowing the surface to come into contact with anything else as this may smudge or otherwise damage the drawing.

Prices for pet or face portrait sketches go from £10 to £20

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

Graphite Pencil Drawings on heavy weight paper/ card.

Drawings are normally done on A4 210gsm or A3 300gsm smooth finished white card, or oversized 310gsm Bristol Board. Drawings involve a greater degree of accuracy, paying more attention to form and structure by gauging distances on the original picture using a pencil, and paying more attention to fine differences in shading. I tend to do an initial outline drawing, then spend a while thinking about it and comparing it to the original, then I add levels of shading and any changes I want to make and leave it for a while longer before going in to make any small changes and adjustments I want to make. At this point I tend to ask the commissioner if there are any parts they aren't happy with and make any changes agreed on.

Drawings are normally done on standard sized board (A4 or A3 white cardboard), but I can also do them on oversized 310gsm Bristol Board which has an edge border to A4 or A3 size, or can be cut to any size or shape.

A drawing like this should be framed in a poster type frame with a glass or perspex cover and should be hung away from direct sunlight.

You should avoid touching the surface or allowing the surface to come into contact with anything else as this may smudge or otherwise damage the drawing.

Prices for drawings start from £30

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

Coloured Pencil Drawings on 310gsm oversized Bristol Board.

As these are a little more involved than a greyscale drawing, these are done exclusively on oversized 310gsm Bristol Board. Drawings involve a greater degree of accuracy, paying more attention to form and structure by gauging distances on the original picture using a pencil, and combinations of colours must be considered to give the correct final shade and degree of shading. I have several sets of coloured pencils and may choose to use oil pencils which give a greater spread of colour and can work better in particular drawings. The featured drawing was done using Steadtler Noris coloured pencils, 24 colours on oversized A4 310gsm Bristol Board. The picture also includes a plain cream mount to show how the mount overlaps the edges of the drawing so the drawing fits the display area from edge to edge.

Drawings are normally done on oversized 310gsm Bristol Board which has an edge border to A4 or A3 size, but can be cut to any size or shape.

A drawing like this should be framed in a poster type frame with a glass or perspex cover and should be hung away from direct sunlight.

You should avoid touching the surface or allowing the surface to come into contact with anything else as this may smudge or otherwise damage the drawing.

Prices for coloured pencil drawings start from £60

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

Pastels on Pastel Paper

Pastels require a strong relatively rough surface and particular papers are made specifically for their use. I always use good quality pastel papers from manufacturers such as Fabriano and Hahnemuhle.

Pastels suit a particular style of drawing. A pastel portrait may be less expensive than a coloured pencil drawing, but is likely to be lower detail, edging away from realism towards impressionism. It does, on the other hand, take well to wildlife and pet pictures.

Pastel drawings are done on sheets of coloured pastel paper which I keep in a range of colours, e.g., Sand, Red, Olive Green, Brown etc., in A4 size. I also keep stock of cream Fabriano Pastel Paper which can be cut to oversized A4 or A3 or any other size or shape. Pieces on A4 sheets will not quite go from edge to edge as you need to hold the page as you work.

A drawing like this should be framed in a poster type frame with a glass or perspex cover and should be hung away from direct sunlight.

You should avoid touching the surface or allowing the surface to come into contact with anything else as this may smudge or otherwise damage the drawing.

Prices for pastel drawings start from £50

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

Acrylics on 10" x 8" or A4 canvas board, Damar Varnished.

This is the least expensive option for a painted and varnished canvas.

Canvas boards (canvas stretched over a board and fixed) used for this type of painting are either 10" x 8" (255mm x 202mm) or A4 (297mm x 210mm). These are primed with five coats of archival Winsor and Newton acrylic gesso.

Paints used are Winsor and Newton Acrylics and the finished piece is sealed with three coats of Zest-It Damar Varnish.

These can be supplied either as a bare canvas board or framed.

If you choose to have the piece supplied framed, I can discuss framing options with you and provide a quote for framing and frame the picture. Framing for these paintings starts from £20. This includes the frame, a barrier board, a backing board, paper tape sealing and hanging brackets and string.

Once I have started a painting like this, I usually finish it in a few days. It then needs three days for the acrylic paint to dry and stabilise. The varnishing is done over four days and needs around three weeks to dry hard, so the total time from starting painting to despatch for delivery is around four or five weeks. The varnish finish is very hard waring and can be carefully wiped over using mildly soapy water for cleaning and can be dusted as usual, using a feather duster or soft brush. Care should be taken when cleaning as there are likely to be raised brush strokes in some places.

Prices for pet portraits or face only portraits start from £80

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

Acrylics on A3 canvas, Damar Varnished.

A larger more expensive option, with a relatively fast delivery time.

Canvases used for this type of painting are traditional stretched A3 (297mm x 420mm) 280gsm cotton canvasses, stretched around a wooden frame. These are primed with five coats of archival Winsor and Newton acrylic gesso.

Paints used are Winsor and Newton Acrylics and the finished piece is sealed with three coats of Zest-It Damar Varnish.

These can be supplied either as a bare canvas or framed.

If you choose to have the piece supplied framed, I can discuss framing options with you and provide a quote for framing and frame the picture. Framing for these paintings starts from £35. This includes the frame, a barrier board, a backing board, paper tape sealing and hanging brackets and string.

Once I have started a painting like this, I usually finish it in a week to ten days. It then needs a week for the acrylic paint to dry and stabilise. The varnishing is done over five days and needs around four weeks to dry hard, so the total time from starting painting to despatch for delivery is around seven or eight weeks. The varnish finish is very hard waring and can be carefully wiped over using mildly soapy water for cleaning and can be dusted as usual, using a feather duster or soft brush. Care should be taken when cleaning as there are likely to be raised brush strokes in some places.

Prices for face only portraits start from £200

If you would like body detail, e.g., upper body or full body, this can take a lot longer and may cost as much as £600

Landscapes in acrylics at A3 can take longer, depending on the scene, and prices for these start from £300

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

Oil on canvas, Damar Varnished.

Oils give the very best finish as paints can be finely blended across the piece to give soft transitions, but the drying time for oils is six months, so delivery is slow.

Canvases used for this type of painting are traditional stretched A3 (297mm x 420mm) 280gsm or A2 (420mm x 594mm) 300gsm cotton canvasses, stretched around a wooden frame. These are primed with five coats of archival Winsor and Newton acrylic gesso.

Paints used are Winsor and Newton Winton Oils and the finished piece is sealed with three coats of Zest-It Damar Varnish.

These can be supplied either as a bare canvas or framed.

If you choose to have the piece supplied framed, I can discuss framing options with you and provide a quote for framing and frame the picture. Framing for these paintings starts from £35. This includes the frame, a barrier board, a backing board, paper tape sealing and hanging brackets and string.

I can usually do an A3 face only portrait (as pictured) in around a week. An upper body A3 portrait generally takes ten days to two weeks. A3 landscapes can take up to two weeks.

It then needs to hang to dry for six months, to ensure that the paint is dry and chemically stabilised before varnishing. The varnishing is done over five days and needs around three weeks to dry hard, so the total time from starting painting to despatch for delivery is around seven months. The varnish finish is very hard waring and can be carefully wiped over using mildly soapy water for cleaning and can be dusted as usual, using a feather duster or soft brush. Care should be taken when cleaning as there are likely to be raised brush strokes in some places.

Prices for face only portraits start from £200

Please contact me to further discuss your requirements.

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