Commission — Assorted Arts

How it works.

Most commissions are drawings, in the same scale and approach as the rest of the catalogue. Three rounds, light contracts, predictable timelines.

We talk it through.

Tell me about the room — light, dimensions, what's already there, what's missing. Budget, deadline, anything you've ruled out. I'll come back with a brief: dimensions, palette, approach, price.

Week 1 · email + call

I sketch and approve.

Two or three small studies on paper, sent to you for approval. We pick one and confirm. 50% deposit at this stage, refundable up to the start of painting. After that, the commission is yours.

Weeks 2–3 · approval round

I draw and ship.

Painted in the studio, photographed mid-way and on completion. Framed in oak if you want it. Shipped or hand-delivered (within Chicago). Balance due on completion, before shipping.

Weeks 4–8 · in the studio

One I made earlier.

A real commission, start to finish — so you can see what actually turns up rather than take my word for it.

A hand-made book cover showing a brick bookshop drawn in coloured pencil, with a hand-lettered sign reading Mr. B. B. Booker's Brilliant & Beautiful Book Barn, Est. 1893, a plank door, and a shopkeeper in a bowler hat reaching for it with a book under one arm — the sign, door frame and figure all cut from paper and standing off the surface

Mr. B. B. Booker's Brilliant & Beautiful Book Barn

Hand-made book cover · coloured pencil & cut paper · a gift

A friend had an old Victorian volume from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and no decent cover for it. So it got a bookshop — brick by drawn brick, with a plank door, a hand-lettered sign, and a slightly panicked shopkeeper in a bowler hat reaching for it, a book clamped under one arm. The sign reads Est. 1893, which is the year of the Fair, because if you're going to do a thing you may as well do it properly.

Everything stands off the surface: the sign, the door frame, the shopkeeper. It's coloured pencil underneath and cut paper on top — which is roughly how most of my commissions end up, whatever they start as.

It lives with its owner now and isn't for sale. Yours wouldn't be either — that's rather the point.

Common questions.

What does a commission cost?

Drawing commissions start at $150 for a small piece and scale up with size and detail; larger, more involved pieces run higher. The final price is always quoted upfront in the brief — no surprises.

How long does it take?

Most commissions take 6–10 weeks from approved brief to shipped piece. Larger pieces or busier seasons (autumn) can stretch to 12. I'll always quote a realistic timeline upfront.

Can I see progress?

Yes. You'll get mid-way photos and a final photo before shipping. For local commissions, you're welcome to come and see it in the studio while it's still on the desk.

What if I don't love it?

The 50% deposit at sketch approval is refundable up to the day I start painting. After that, you're committed — but the sketch approval is the real decision point, and I'd rather not start than make something you'll resent.

Will you copy an existing piece?

No, but I'll happily make something in the same series, palette, or scale as a piece you've seen. Each commission is a new piece, made for the room it's going into.

Do you ship internationally?

Within the US, yes — packed by hand and posted insured, quoted separately and added to the final invoice. Outside the US, ask before you commit: a commission is priced case by case, so we can work the postage out first.

Tell me about the room.

No pressure, no commitment. I read everything that comes in and reply within a working day — usually with questions, sometimes with a rough quote, always with options.

Let's make something together.