Commissions

Made by Barb

And the process of creating it is fun, as it is a collaborative effort.

If you are looking at a painting for a specific date or for Christmas, please be aware, Barb has a full time job that involves some travel. To balance work and family commitments, she only accepts 10 commissions a year.

1. You initially email Barb at barb@barbkowalik.com to discuss her availability and your commission ideas. You may then decide to talk over the phone or meet face to face to discuss your ideas. You can send Barb photos or other source material as reference for the picture. Please note that good quality and close up photos of faces are needed to enable an accurate likeness with portrait commissions. Barb also likes to know something about the animal’s personality as we are working together to create your portrait.

2. Barb then tries out your ideas and when you've agreed the basic design she records it in a sketch, or mockup you agree the size for the work and the deposit is required before the painting is actually started.

3. Barb then paints the picture according to the sketch. She sends you photos of the picture at key stages in its development, so you can see how it is developing and give feedback on anything you would like changed.

4. When it is finished, she will contact you to organize delivery.

Photos of Pets & Animals for Commissions

Barb prefers to paint pets and animals from photographs, rather than from a live sitting. To create a good likeness, she needs photographs that accurately show the animal's coat and eye color, shows the posture required for the commission (especially in terms of how the head is held), and gives good detail of the animal's face in the expression required for the portrait. This often means clients provide several photographs to work from. However, in some situations this may not be possible. This would be one of our points of discussion in creating your portrait.

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