Commission an Original Painting: What to Know

Commissioning an original painting means asking an artist to make a one-of-a-kind work for you: for your space, your light, and the feeling you want it to hold. It usually starts with a private conversation, the artist listens for a good while before ever touching a surface, and the finished piece is composed to your room and delivered with care. If you have been curious about how it works but weren't quite sure how to start, I am so glad you're here, and I would love to walk you through it the way I would over coffee.

What actually happens when you commission a painting?

A commission is simply a painting made on purpose, for you. Instead of finding a finished work and bringing it home, we start with your wall, your light, and the thing you want the room to feel like, and I build the piece toward that. My commissions run through Abbott Atelier, my commission studio, and I handle every one of them personally, from the first conversation to the day it hangs. Nothing gets handed off. The whole point is that the work and the person who made it stay close to you the entire way through.

How do we begin?

We begin by talking, and honestly, we begin by me listening. Before I think about paint at all, I want to understand the room the piece will live in: the scale it needs, how the light moves across that wall through the day, whether you are drawn to my Narrative works or the more abstract Material works built from resin, mineral, glass, gold leaf, and real Sedona earth. Most of all I want to understand the feeling the work has to carry, because that is the thing everything else is built around. I tend to sit with all of that for a good while before I start. A commission is a held thing, and the listening is where it really begins.

What should I have in mind before I reach out?

Less than you would think. You do not need the piece figured out, and you certainly do not need the language of the art world. It helps to have a sense of the wall, roughly how much space you are working with, and the mood you are after: something quiet and still, or something with more movement and story. A photo of the room is lovely if you have one, but it isn't required. If all you have is a feeling and a wall, that is genuinely enough to begin. The rest is my job, and figuring it out together is one of my favorite parts. You can see how I think about this on my commissions page whenever you'd like a closer look.

How is the painting made for my space specifically?

This is the part I love most. Once I understand the room and the feeling, I compose the piece to it. Scale is chosen for the wall, not pulled off a shelf. Color and surface are built to sit well in your particular light, because the same painting can read one way at a bright noon window and another in a warm evening lamp, and I want yours to hold up beautifully in the hours you actually live in that room. If it is a Material work, the materials are chosen deliberately, right down to earth carried back from Sedona. Every choice points at the feeling we named at the start.

How long does a commission take?

It depends on the scale and the materials, so I will always give you an honest timeline once I understand what the piece wants to be. What I can tell you now is that I do not rush the listening or the making. A commission moves at the pace of doing it well, and I would rather give you a real timeframe and keep you in the loop as it comes to life than promise a date that shortchanges the work. You will never be left wondering where things stand.

How does pricing work for a commission?

Commissions are priced by inquiry, for the same honest reason any one-of-a-kind work is. The value lives in what the piece actually is: its scale, the materials and where they came from, the time held inside it, and the fact that it was made for you and only you. When you reach out, what you get back is a real conversation and a straight answer, given with care, so you always know exactly what you are stepping into before you decide anything at all.

What happens when the painting is finished?

I handle the finish the same way I handle the beginning: personally, and with care. Delivery and installation are looked after, so the piece arrives and finds its place on your wall without you having to sort out the logistics. My hope is always that the moment it hangs, the room feels like it had been waiting for it. And because I am the one who made it, I will be here after it hangs too, glad to tell you anything you want to know about how it was built and how to care for it, for as long as it is yours.

If a wall has been on your mind, or even just a feeling you would love a painting to hold, that is the perfect place to begin. I would be so glad to hear from you. Contact the studio and tell me a little about the room and what draws you, and if you would like to see new work as it comes into the world, the door to my Collector's Circle is always open.

Dani