Commissioning a Portrait

Procedure and Fees

How to get your portrait painted—are you considering hiring a portrait artist and commissioning a painting? When getting ready to commission a portrait, you may have a lot of questions. The process of having a portrait painted is a very rewarding process with me, as I am a highly-trained master portrait artist, and in addition, my portraits are frequently accepted with few or no changes.

We all know how quickly the years pass, so it’s good to get started when you are first looking into commissioning a painting. Capturing the fleeting years of childhood is priceless, as well as is honoring a family member or yourself on a special occasion or a business associate for their lifework. Commissioned portraits are popular and memorable gifts for spouses for special occasion birthdays, anniversary or holiday gifts. I paint quite a few gift portraits each year!

The image for the Portrait Commission: my professional images or email me yours

I customarily travel to my portrait subjects to take photographic references for my portrait commissions (a sitting takes about one hour, depending upon the scope of the painting). A custom oil painting from my images will allow for my composition and highest level of artistic style to be visible in the end product, so I do prefer to work from my own photos of my portrait subjects, whenever it is possible, however I also paint from supplied photographs from my clients and can paint a portrait solely from photos. If you do wish for me to work from an existing photo, please email your highest resolution images to: soniahale1@gmail.com .

If you do prefer I work from an existing photograph, I have years of experience painting from life and so I am able to create custom oil and pastel portrait paintings from photographs, which makes things more streamlined for you.

After the photography session and consultation, I will utilize any portrait sketches made and the photograph we select together to capture the subject. The final oil or pastel portrait will be shipped (upon approval) for locations outside of Boston.

Portrait Commission Pricing, Payment Schedule

50% of fees are due at the time of the booking to be placed on my commissions list. Shipping, framing and extended travel expenses are not included. The remaining 50% in due prior to delivery/shipment. Timing of your completed portrait will be discussed upon acceptance of the commission, but typically is 2-8 months. If you have a quicker timeline, please just check in with me to see if I am able to work with it. I have successfully worked with very tight deadlines.

When you have a portrait painted with me, whether I take the photographs or if I create a portrait from photos, you can rest assured that all will be taken care of properly. I work closely with clients to ensure satisfaction with the final product and will make any desired changes to the painting requested. (Please see testimonials page or email me for references.)

Contact Me

Contact with with your interest in having a portrait painted and tell me as many details as you can if you email me. I can answer all your specific questions on how to get your portrait painted. soniahale1@gmail.com or call 617-365-6349.

Due to the high number of scam phone calls these days, I screen calls, so an email is the best first point of contact.