- How to Commission a
Portrait or Sculpture
The process for having a portrait
made varies according to the number of people, the
medium, the size etc. Shelley will talk with you and
help you determine what type of portrait best suits your
needs. She will arrange a meeting with you to discuss
clothing options, and possible poses. It is also
important that the artist see the style and atmosphere
of the place where the portrait will reside. This helps
her in creating a portrait that is perfectly suited to
your needs. In this meeting, she also has an opportunity
to get to know the subject(s) and their personality.
This helps direct her to the pose or props necessary to
create a likeness. This is all discussed with the client
to obtain a mutual understanding before any work is
begun. The Client will put down a 50% deposit at
this time, the balance to be paid upon receipt of the
finished product.
- Commissioning a
Liturgical or Memorial Sculpture
-
- Please contact Shelley to discuss
ideas for a sculpture. Once a general concept is
agreed upon, she will create a sketches and/or a maquette in plastiline
for you to see. Changes may be made at this stage.
The artist truly enjoys working with the client to
create a unique work of art that fits your needs
perfectly. The maquette, once finalized could
quite possibly be used as a fund-raiser for your
organization to help pay for the final sculpture.
It could be cast in bronze for this purpose. The
final full-sized version will be created by Shelley in
her Poetry Studio. At this point, the client is
welcome to come out to view and request subtle changes
in the piece, in fact, she delights in frequent visits
by her clients. It will then be taken to the
foundry, a mold made and cast in bronze using the lost
wax method. A patina is applied at the foundry.
Your sculpture will then be shipped to it's site, the
client must pay the shipping and handling costs.
If this is in the DFW area, there are usually no charges
for the delivery and installation. The artist will be on site to see to the sculpture's
unloading and details of installation. The foundry
fees will be included in the estimate for the final cost
of the project. The client also agrees to pay all
travel costs outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Commissioning a
Portrait Sculpture
A second meeting is arranged for a
photography sitting. She will shoot several rolls of
film - at no additional charge - which she will work
from. If the client has chosen to have a bust made,
Shelley will need to meet with the model for the final
details near the completion of the piece. This helps to
insure the best possible likeness. Should the client
prefer a larger sculpture ( a full body, life-size),
Shelley will create a maquette which the client will
approve prior to her beginning the large version. A
large sculpture is created first in Plastiline clay,
which is then taken to the foundry and cast in bronze.
When the work is near completion in plastiline, the
client is invited to view and request subtle changes.
Commissioning a Painted
Portrait
Painted portraits require a slightly
different process, as clothing, background, props etc.
become more important. Shelley will meet with the client
and subjects to discuss different ideas and techniques.
She will also assess personalities, life styles, etc. to
create the best possible likeness. A second meeting will
be arranged for the photography sitting. Several digital
photos will be taken at no additional charge. The
client and Shelley will view the photos together to
determine which will be used for the portrait. Shelley
then returns to her studio to complete the portrait.
Client will be responsible for framing the painting.
Travel, Shipping and
Handling
Should any travel be required outside
of the DFW area, the client will be required to pay all
travel expenses. If possible, the expenses could be
shared with another customer in the same area. Every
effort will be made to keep the expense to a minimum, as
most interviews and photo sessions could be completed on
the same day. The client will also pay all shipping and
handling of sculptures and paintings.
