Artist bill is nearly twice what I was quoted!

[krustykittens]

Hi all, I have commissioned stuff from an artist in the past whose work I really like. I tell her what I am after, she quotes me a price, sometimes the bill is £5 or £10 higher because of materials but no problem. I commissioned something from her for my daughter's birthday (my daughter knows she is getting it). She quoted me a price and has just come back to me today. The work is done, she bit a bit more work into it than we agreed, the final price is now nearly DOUBLE the quote! I don't want to offend her, I would like to be able to commission from her again, but I do feel really a bit pissed off that the price has increased so much! I was going to offer to pay the difference in another month as I have the original price set aside but no more. But the truth is, I don't want to pay nearly double the quote and feel she shouldn't have put work in that wasn't agreed - or have come back to me if she felt the original quote wasn't going to be enough BEFORE she did the work. What would you guys say? I was thinking of some thing like, "The work is stunning, as usual, but a lot more than I had budgeted for, based on the quote. Can we come to some arrangement?" and leave the ball in her court?

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Sounds like she is taking the pre. Because you have paid extra before she may think that you will pay no matter what the cost, as you know she is good at what she does. Not very professional. You must set the boundary and although you admire her work you are working to a budget..

My mum was casting nasturtiums 60 years ago, I thought everyone said that. I'm not that old! It's a Yorkshire thing!

I'm not sure about it being purely a Yorkshire thing, my DM's family is from Kent and all say it.

Yes clarify with her without mentioning anything negative. It's a business transaction at the end of the day and maybe you could suggest to meet her half way with the excess? As you say you really like it.

Casting nasturtiums was in Kath & Kim 😂

I didn't know Josie Russell was an artist. She's very talented, and I hope she has much success. Bless her.

If she did the extra embroidery because she felt like it and/or got carried away, it’s her problem. You should still only pay the quoted price. It’s a good lesson for her in the future. She needs to learn to charge appropriately for her time and stick to the brief!

As above, in writing always!

Why do people keep asking what the piece is when OP has already said she doesn't want it to be outing?

Just thinking, if it was supposed to be unique, there’s going to be 2 of these now and your daughters is going to look like the unfinished one.
Are you still happy with this arrangement and the fact that you are having to wait so long for the replacement. To be honest at £150 I cannot see why this takes so long? At minimum wage this would be less than 20 hours work if materials were free, which they aren’t. If cost of materials etc. is taken into account this should only be a 4 hours (as pp said) job or maybe 6 if being generous. Irrespective of her only doing it in her own time it is a bit ridiculous having to wait so long! She should be ensuring that your order is given priority over any others and even waiting a month is pretty ridiculous!
Artist is either pretty crap at financial side, costing etc. or doesn’t value your custom!

Just thinking, if it was supposed to be unique, there’s going to be 2 of these now and your daughters is going to look like the unfinished one.

I agree - I can't see how it is now unique and I wouldn't be happy. Not sure there is a compromise on that now except I'd go elsewhere.

I used to do portraits. It didn't matter if it took four hours or fifteen, i asked for the quoted price.

Also, while it might be tempting to get carried away with doing more, if customer didn't request it, the result would A) not be what was agreed at the commission B) not be what customer wants.

If the creative bug hit me, it would be time to set aside the commission and do my own work. Then finish commission in timely manner.

I never actually did a change that was happily welcomed. Most people are particular about what they like.

She was unprofessional. Don't feel badly for wanting the originally commissioned work. Art is business.

@DanielRicciardosSmile
@SchadenfreudePersonified

Of course it is!!

I’m glad you managed to sort it on a way you’re happy about OP.

By the way, as other artists are on here... maybe someone wouldn’t mind giving the benefit of their expertise?

How would I go about commissioning a painting of myself and DS? I’ve always wanted some ‘real art’, but the idea has become more important to me as it’s likely I won’t be around to make old bones and I want to give DS something better to remember me/ my love for him than some snaps or fake smiley photos stuck on a canvas. But I don’t want to end up with a portrait I’m not happy with, either in style or just plain ahem, vanity im afraid!

Any tips or starting points. I’d literally be starting off with some words into google!

Sorry, the artist should put this down to a lesson learnt. If she got carried away and decided to embellish the item with some embroidery, then she should have cleared it with you first - not only to warn of cost, but also to check that you'd like it! As it is, she took artistic licence a bit too far, and she can't charge for work that she thought would look nice if you knew nothing about it/weren't warned of price increase. I make felted bags and scarves, so embroidery and beading are things I use often, but I'd never just add details to a piece without checking - and if it improves the item, then I don't charge because it advertises my work!

WellThisIs (sorry, don't know how to tag), I know of other artists that sell work on sites such as Etsy & Folksy that will take commissions. Maybe searching those for one whose style you like, then contacting the artist? Google local galleries too, as they will know of any local portrait artists. At a push, tutors at local art colleges might be able to help? If they don't do portrait work, chances are that they'll know of those that do. Ask to see their portfolio, and what they work in - they may be brilliant in watercolour, for example, but oils might not be their forte, so no good if you want oils. Good luck.

Also, @WellThisIsShit, perhaps do a search on Instagram for artists. They post a lot of photos of their work, and will have links to their websites with information on commissions.

Seeing what they post on there, you'll get an idea of whether you like their style or not.

@SultanOfPing sorry, don't know how to tag just copy and paste the name, and put an @ at the beginning of the name.