Commissions

COMMISSIONS

PLEASE NOTE I AM FULLY-BOOKED UNTIL mid 2017.

I only do commission work where it involves a large-format oil portrait of a person who is still alive (large format can be
e.g. A0 size or larger).


Military, Business, Academic and Medical People. 

I am comfortable in the company of senior military people, which is where i have a track record, but i am equally
able to carry a conversation with high-level business people, academics and medical people.

I have also painted and photographed extraordinary people who stand out from the crowd for more humble
reasons.

I prefer to photograph my subject myself (with a professional camera) and spend at least a few hours talking to
them and possibly their family or colleagues. This helps me to get a sense of their character.

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A COMMISSION?
In this process i need a contact person with whom I can communicate freely and regularly as the
project unfolds. 
The process takes one to several months to complete from start to finish and sometimes six months
to a year - please note that oil paint can take up to a year to dry. Although a painting can be sealed
with varnish in a shorter period of time if push-comes-to-shove.
In terms of cost, this can be discussed in person, but when trying to figure out a price in your
head, please factor in the following: 
- initial conversations over the phone and by Whatsapp or email. 

- Me travelling to spend a session with the person to be painted (eg, a few hours between late
morning and mid afternoon – photo shoot plus conversation). 

- Me doing the early stage concepts and getting one approved. 

- Me doing the painting over a period of weeks to several months. 

- The cost of the materials involved.

- Packing the painting. Despatching the finished piece to where it will be framed and then to its
new home (normally by courier). Usually I would despatch the piece without a frame – framing 
needs to be done separately by a dedicated professional.


Payments would be made in stages as the work progresses. With the final payment being made
before the work is despatched. 

I am sort of English, but when I was born my parents lived in Jersey in the Channel Islands. England is home for me in spite of having gone to school in New Zealand and university in Australia. In addition to this, some years spent living in Cape Town left their mark.

I photographed and interviewed 40 WWII veterans in 10 countries. I have been privileged to work with half a dozen generals, including former heads of the German air force and the RAF, and a dozen colonels.

I raised two kids, now adults, as a single father after my wife died from cancer when our kids were very young.

I have read over 1,000 books and travelled all over the world. I have an economics degree from a respected university. I trained as a professional photographer and this gave me a solid grounding when I cut my teeth in painting.

I am inordinately fond of dogs.