Commissions
"We commissioned Frances to paint our Welsh Cob, the result was a wonderful true-to-life reminder of our much missed pony, whose sparkling character shines out from the portrait."
Your bespoke portrait is a great way to capture and preserve precious memories of your special friend or can make a thoughtful gift. It is a one-off, personal piece which will take pride of place in your home to be admired for years to come.
"Whether static horses or working horses, Frances has that enviable ability to not only portray the subject, but get the stance of the horses, their muscle tone and the light on their coats, so delightfully right."
A selection of my commissions
I aim to paint your special friend and their essence within from, I know this may sound strange, the vibes that I feel emanating from them. So that I can best capture this aspect, I need good clear photographs. My portraits take many hours, sometimes weeks, of concentrated work together with much love, knowledge and skill to complete. With over thirty years experience, I use my unique insight, empathy and exceptional care to achieve a life-like and sensitive result.
Additional animals may be added to your portrait, and those which have passed away.
Your portrait may be completed in a selection of sizes using professional quality acrylic paint, coloured pencil or pastel on quality grounds such as cotton or linen canvas or boards, or watercolour or Pastelmat paper for long-lasting images.
Professional framing can be arranged, but is not included as this allows for you to choose the finish that is right for you and allows for easier shipping of your portrait, if this is required. Framed portraits will need to be collected as couriers do not like glass, though this could be swapped for acrylic glaze.
I only undertake a limited number commissions per year, so please book early for a special occasion or Christmas.
how to commission your animal portrait
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Contact me to discuss your requirements, such as size, number of animals and whether it is for a certain occasion. You may like to include a photo.
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Send your favourite clear, high resolution, copyright free images to me. Choose your design composition from sketches. When all requirements are agreed a 25% non refundable deposit will be required to confirm booking, via a "SquareUp" invoice.
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I will work carefully on your portrait and email you updates to allow you to watch progress. Please allow approximately two months for your commission, though this may be longer at busy times.
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When you are happy with your portrait, pay the remaining balance via "SquareUp". When this has cleared, collection of your portrait, especially for pastels, will be arranged or it will be carefully packed and shipped, at no additional cost, to you.
price guide
a head portrait
On 10" x 14" canvas £185
12" x 16" canvas £250
20" x 16" canvas £375
Acrylic paint
A head portrait
On paper or coloured board in a
presentation mount
A4ish image in a 12" x 16" mount £185
A3ish image to fit a 20" x 16" mount £300
full body or two heads
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£300
£450
full body or two heads
On paper or coloured board
£250
£375
full body with handler
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£400
£600
full body with handler
On paper or coloured board
£300
£475
Additional animals may be added at £50 each dependent on the size of the portrait.
reference photos
Good, high resolution, copyright free reference photos are essential for me to create a wonderful, realistic portrait: the more detail that I can see, the more I can put in. I am afraid that phone photos are not ideal for this as they tend to be of low resolution which can pixelate when enlarged.
If you can provide a mix of photos that would be lovely, including one of the pose that you would like - some taken with a phone (to capture character) and some with a camera for the all important details, especially in the eyes, fur and shadow areas.
Here are some hopefully helpful tips:
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Please try to include a camera photo if you can, amongst the phone ones. Phones only have very small lenses which unfortunately can distort an image - perhaps giving a horse a large nose and small ears.
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phones can tend also give low resolution images which tend to pixelate when enlarged, producing just patches of colour, which are very difficult to work from. If using a phone please adjust your settings to a higher resolution to enable me to see the detail and colour nuances,
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outdoor natural lighting on a sunny day is best with your animal illuminated from the side, without flash to give better definition, detail in the eyes and truer colours,
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stand back from your subject, and zoom in, if possible, to give a close-up with less distortion
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small animals are better raised, up on perhaps a chair, so that they can be photographed at their eye level,
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try to capture a characteristic pose that you would like in your portrait. Perhaps a friend could try to get your animal's attention so that they look alert, unless a more laid back portrait is preferred.