A Very Easy Way to Get a Commission

When a client falls in love with one of your works, but it’s already sold, what do you do?

Show them something else? Take their contact information and say you’ll be in touch? Let them go out the door disappointed?  

Or do you do something practiced as far back as the Dutch Golden Age: offer to have the artist execute the piece in a larger size.  

If it’s good enough for Rembrandt…

Over the years I have found that one of the easiest ways to get a commission is to give the buyer exactly what they want.

If you’ll review any of Rembrandt’s better-known paintings, you’ll find that several were executed in three sizes: study, enlargement, and monumental scale.  

Many of the Impressionists and Cubists did the same thing.  Hence, the precedent was established long ago. 

And, no, you are not just copying.

By the very nature of recreating an original, again, no two pieces will ever be exactly alike. They might capture the same mood or feel, but there will always be minor differences. The point is to capture the sense and spirit of the original, not to copy it. 

Keep the Fire Alive

Most artists in our gallery love this practice. It saves them the trouble of reinventing the wheel on a regular basis.  However, sometimes an artist won’t care for this approach, which is fine with me.

If you chose to practice it, please remember that each enlargement or reduction must be as impassioned as the work that inspired it, radiating its own fire.  

If this approach leads to your first commission, make sure the details are spelled out in a letter of intent. This leads to goodwill all the way around when both you and the collector are clear on all the details up front.

Next time, I’ll go into the details that you need to spell out so everyone is happy.