To view all of my previous Commissions please visit THIS page.
Now, here's how you can Commission your own Painting:
Booking your Consultation
If you would like to commission a painting please contact me to arrange your Free 1-hour Consultation. We will then make an appointment either for you to visit my Bridport Studio, have a chat by Phone, or schedule a Zoom chat.
Before our Consultation
Before you contact me it would be really useful if you can get a general idea of the sort of Mood or Feeling that you would like your painting to evoke. Also consider the scale of painting you might want and the sort of budget you have in mind.
Discussing your Painting Commission
I like to make sure that I get a deep understanding of the sort of painting(s) you might like, in particular to get an idea of the mood or 'feeling' of the painting that you're after. I need to feel inspired when I start a painting and to have a clear idea of the sort of atmospherics, as well as the colour palette, and the tonal range.
I do a great deal of preparatory work before starting a painting, and I always bring my proposals back to the buyer, getting your feedback, until I am sure we are 'on the same page'.
While I will show you various sketches & ideas for paintings that we have discussed, ultimately my paintings are all ‘improvisations’, and I have a policy that every painting I make must also ‘surprise’ me.
This means that I build up more of an idea for the general feeling of a painting, rather than a photographic image to simply copy out. This is also why I generally ask 6 to 8 months for a painting commission. This is because the Creative Process is both unpredictable and a process of 'discovery', so I need enough time to consider & understand the painting as it unfolds before me.
You are buying a Kit Glaisyer painting!
I need to make it very clear that you are buying a Kit Glaisyer painting. You are NOT buying your own idea of a painting that you could simply commission anyone to make. If you wish to do so, then you will need to find an artist happy to just do as you wish… but that is not me!
My Process
My process starts with creating preparatory sketches, along with lots of photographic research at the location, which I then work up using collages and rough studies.
Preparation
When I start work on the final piece, I prepare the canvas, linen, or flax in the traditional manner, using rabbit skin glue and oil primer. I then begin to build up the painting with several layers of oil paint using my unique process developed over many years.
My technique is strongly influenced by my early experience of watercolour landscape painting, plein air oil painting, as well as several years as an Abstract painter. Also by the British Landscape tradition, including Constable and Turner, plus Dutch 17th Century landscape painters, European Romantic painters, and the American Hudson School.
Technique
I usually work using thin glazes of oil colour, allowing the luminosity of the white, coloured, or dark ground to influence the quality of the resulting surface details. The immediate, expressive marks that I learned to make in my oil plein air experience bring a sense of the 'quick light', while the large washes of colour gradation across my paintings originated from my interest in Colour Field painting, in particular paintings by Helen Frankenthaler and Mark Rothko.
Time
I typically ask for six to eight months for an individual commissioned painting, as this approach allows me to maintain a high level of excellence in my practice, working patiently to create my paintings with just the right mood I want to achieve.
The Highest Standards
From my childhood days out painting watercolours with my father, to my teenage plein-air oil paintings, then my early figurative paintings on board, I was always striving to capture a certain truth, at least, my own perception of truth. I bring all of my experience to bear in each of my paintings. I am always innovating & exploring in my art, and I never rest on my laurels, because it is my belief that every single one of my paintings must surprise & delight me before it can go out into the world.
Abstract Awareness
My five years as an Abstract artist in London allowed me to learn about non-figurative painting, as well as the innate physical qualities of the artwork, from the stretcher to the qualities of the canvas, and the tactile nature of the surface. And then, the importance of using the best paints, the process of applying the paint, and all the different permutations of mark making, tools, materials, solvents, application techniques, plus the effects of gravity on the paint, how to manipulate the paint, all of the different consistencies of viscosity & opacity, as well as optics, colour juxtaposition, scale, and ambience.
West Dorset Landscapes
All of this experience has now culminated in my current series of paintings, particularly my West Dorset landscape paintings, which is a body of work that I am immensely proud of, one that I have now been working on for over two decades, and that I will continue to explore over the coming years.
Pricing
I work to a wide range of prices, depending on the scale, at mospherics, and complexity of the painting. Also, we will need to take into consideration whether several paintings are required, as I might then need to find additional studio space for very large projects.
Free 1-hour Consultation
I offer a Free Initial 1-hour Consultation in which we can discuss the general ideas for paintings that you are considering. Ideally this is done either in person in my Bridport Studio, by Phone, or by Zoom.
Agreeing on a Price
During our Consultation we can discuss the Price of the Commission, though it's unlikely that we will know what the final budget will be before we've fully discussed & agreed on the final size, subject, and number of paintings required.
Research Deposit
After our initial Free 1-hour Consultation I will ask you to pay a Research Deposit, and I will then usually prepare some sketches & digital mock-ups that we can discuss at our next meeting.
The amount of the Research Deposit will depend on the scale of the project we have in mind. It will generally be between 10% to 25% of the total budget.
Discussion & Research
The discussion process doesn’t have a definite timescale as it sometimes take a while for ideas for the painting to be clarified by all of us.
I've found that the Reseach Deposit usually covers the necessary time & travel requirements, but if I need to travel further afield or invest additional time in the project, then we will need to add an Additional Payment for my time & travel expenses.
I can also arrange to come to your home to view where the painting will go, or to travel to a particular location to paint from.
Agreeing on a Price
After you’ve paid the initial Deposit and we’ve had enough time to discuss your Commission in depth, we will then agree on the final size, shape, subject and mood of your Commissioned Painting, and to then agree on the Price.
Payment by Instalments
I usually accept payment by instalments for the remainder of the creative process, with the final balance needing to be being paid before delivery of the finished painting. These instalments are usually monthly payments.
Framing, Shipping & Installation
We will also need to factor in the way you would like the painting to be framed, where it needs to be shipped to, and how it will be installed when finished. Of course, I'm happy to offer advice on all these subjects.
As my focus is only on creating your painting, I tend to delegate any framing, shipping, and installation to 3rd parties. I can certainly recommend how the work is framed, but you will then need to discuss ideas with the framer as that also requires very specific discussions.
I am happy to arrange shipping across the UK and around the World. There are many delivery companies that I can recommend and that we can chat with to arrange the most convenient pick-up & delivery services. For Worldwide shipping I tend to use Pack&Send, who have done a great job shipping my art as far as Toronto, Norway and California.
Let’s get started!
So, if you would now like to proceed with your Free 1-hour Consultation please contact me and we can make your appointment to either visit my Bridport studio or schedule our Zoom chat.