i was asked to paint hummingbirds on a particular art sculpture.the color choices ar eto match a decor. they are not at all lifelike. i am used to painting things natural. i have been struggling with this. do you do it,even if you are not confident, and hope for the best,or decline. it is a challenge, but??? Posted by timi NC (Member # 576) on :
If the customer wants it a certain way,... so be it,...most of my invoices read painted as per "approved art".
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
All depends on how hungry you are
Posted by Joey Madden (Member # 1192) on :
I agree with Michael in some respect and with Timi if I were a sign painter, which I'm not.
It all depends of your status and where you figure you are at. I personally do not compromise my style when doing artwork except for repairs.
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
Joeys on the money..for his money... There's only one way to get pinstripes from Hassle Fiasco.....his lines are what he is.....and what he does so well!!!! Hummingbirds however are much more susceptible to interpretation than fine lines..You may assume some self expression here Interpret the birds any way the customer wants... and still sneek in your creativity. Then everyone wins.. Also...charge more...cause ya cant do it YOUR way!
Posted by Dave Payne (Member # 2680) on :
I've heard my father tell a customer many times:
"This looks very unprofessional. I can redo your layout to make it look presentable. Otherwise, I'm not going to put my name on something like that."
I follow in his footsteps.
Posted by PKing (Member # 337) on :
I agree with Dave and all others. When a customer ask if I can do work "just like" other peoples. I tell them NO....but I can do better!
Posted by Steve Barba (Member # 431) on :
I just had this conversation with the guys at the base. The Air Force has this hideous design called "Lets Roll", that they adopted and are authorizing 1 jet per squadron to use as nose art, and I was told that I would be doing this soon to a jet.
We used to have a saying in the military: "Shutup and Color!"
I really don't want to add this with my other nose arts, BUT, like Tim and Michael said....
[ February 06, 2002: Message edited by: Steve Barba ]
Posted by Rob Larkham (Member # 2105) on :
You want it Pink...is your money green? All you need to ask. Thanks Spider
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
You need to identify what you're doing. If you're doing paintings to hang on a wall and be criticized by those considering buying art or if your're a commercial artist. One does what they feel like and hope it will sell and the other does what is commissioned.
Posted by Santo (Member # 411) on :
I agree with those above posts. I had a friend when in Jr. college who received his degree in commercial art. He held on to that high standards attitude too much and never could do anything as a commercial artist. He became very miserable for it.
Posted by Bill Cosharek (Member # 1274) on :
Hi Faye,
Is there any room for cheating here? What I mean is since you'll be painting you probably will blend some colors anyway. Is it possible to adjust the hues? I don't mean changing the color, but by adding tints & shades. Although I have no idea what colors are to be used some type of monochrome effect might work.
Also it might be possible to disassemble a color & still make it work. By this I mean if the colors aren't primary you could use those of which it is composed & still conform to the restrictions.
Or maybe not. I would at least ask.
[ February 06, 2002: Message edited by: Bill Cosharek ]
Posted by Jim Upchurch (Member # 209) on :
Artists sometimes treat their work like it was something sacred. It may be to you but if someone is paying for a commissioned piece they have the right to some input. I would discuss any problems or suggestions you may have but it is their money. I would never pay somebody to do whatever they want, they can do that on their dime.
Posted by Tony B (Member # 935) on :
The approach I've been taking is along the lines of the three tier pricing thing. For instance, I am doing a lot of trucks and sometimes the customer only wants the leased to (whatever carrier & info) decals.
Instead of printing out ALL my fonts and having them pick out 50 of them, what I do is to come up with about 4 to 8 simple layouts and print them out for them. This way I sort of have control over what I am putting out there. When I make the presentation, I also state that if they're not happy with the designs, they can mix the elements from design to design or I can come up with some new stuff. They have been picking from my designs so far.
I do this with just about all my clients, I treat everyone as though they are buying a $5000.00 sign and it's good practice for when dealing with the $5000.00 client.
I plan on takin the time to design about 30 or so simple one color layouts of each carriers lease info (they're about 5 or 6 around here) That way they can pick from those and I will always have good work out there, and the choice process would be faster than letting them pick from over 1000 fonts.
Good Topic
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
Hmmm, painting a sculpture of humming birds to fit a decor. I presume the sculpture itself is realistic, just that the colors they want you to paint them in are unnatural. Yes???
For the life of me I can't imagine a decor that is so strict that hummingbirds painted naturally would clash with it. But ok, they obviously want some very stylized look. I can easily picture a sculpture being a solid color, or having a patterned color like a stipple or marble or woodgrain, etc - and I can stretch that vision into two tone shading without too much difficulty. Beyond that it gets cloudy what they could possibly want. You didn't give enough information to speculate further.
But I can say this... it sounds like you could be entering an area where the client has a bad idea that even they won't like once you do it. I'd be game to try anything they are willing to pay for with the operative word being PAY!. If they change their minds after seeing it, they have to be willing to PAY you to redo it also, until they are happy. If they understand that, you are on solid ground.
Posted by Kathy Joiner (Member # 1814) on :
Faye, I don't have the experience that the others who have answered this, but I'm gonna put in my 2 cents.
My very first customer wanted an ugly sign. I gave her choices that were more attractive and more readable. She choose helvetica in straight lines that a child could have executed. She was the customer so she got what she wanted. When she picked up her sign she was as happy as a dead hog in the sunshine! Better yet, she has sent others my way.
If I go into a dress shop and fall in love with a dress, I don't want the salesperson or owner to tell me that it is not appropriate for me. If they would refuse to sell it to me because they thought I had poor taste and did not want me telling folks where I got this hideous dress, I wouldn't go back there. I WOULD find it and purchase it from another shop.
We all hate doing "ugly signs", but all days aren't diamonds.
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Ask yourself:
"How hungry am I?"
"Do I want to be perceived as another snooty artistic type?"
"Will I have to share a $30 hotel room with another letterhead at the next meet because my snobbery made me poor?"
"Is the color choice really so repulsive that I could not possibly continue with normal life if I take this job?"
Personally, I'd make the compromise. It's just not that big of a deal.. it's butterflies. Besides that, art is always subjective and what you think is ugly could be perceived as a masterpiece by someone else.
Posted by faye welsh (Member # 2524) on :
well, am i glad i posted this topic!! i realized i am boxed in by my own fear of the unnatural. i had once sketched picasso's guitar player that is done solely in blue. i loved the feeling i got from the blues. i realize i have never seen a man by the street gutter all blue playing a guitar..and yet, it is a work of art i love., also worth a fortune. granted, this is for someone's bathroom wall. it is being painted on a metal welded sculture ,very modernistic. maybe it does need lavendar and dusty rose hummingbirds? all fears aside,it is on the easel.here goes nothing!!!thanks for seeing things from a different viewpoint and opening my myopic eyes!!no wonder jill fell in love with this crew.fiddles.
Posted by Jillbeans (Member # 1912) on :
Hey sis- Just shut up & paint the #?&%$$#@!!! thing! The guy only gave me it last September....sorry for pawning my junk off on ya, but I HATE to paint birds! Love- Your Twisted Sister JILL ps ya wanna little cheez wit dat whine?
Posted by RonniesTintSigns (Member # 1669) on :
Well I not an artist I'm a retail Sign company. I'm in business to make money & it takes me about $500 a day to meet the overhead expenses. So I do what the customer wants. So if your rolling in the dough & don't need the money turn it away. Don't let bills & purchasing the better things in life stop you from protecting your integrity. To be realistic customers don't know the difference between good & bad anyway. Art is also in the eye of the beholder. One man's trash is another man's gold who am I to tell someone what they like sucks. That would be a Pi-- poor attitude on the tellers part.
[ February 09, 2002: Message edited by: RonniesTintSigns ]
Posted by Steve Nuttle (Member # 2645) on :
Once again I am forced to my simple cowboy logic. Baskins and Robbins...31 flavors. Why is art, art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have seen "art" or signs that I would not hang on my outhouse. But they are created by much more talented people than I. Things that I create are for some, a thing of beauty, and for others a feeble attempt at art. When I do something for myself or for the customer who gives free reign, I always remain true to myself and do the best I can. When faced with the customer that only wants it their way I submitt and yeild. I have to tell myself that "beauty and functionality are in the eye of the customer in some cases". When I can take an intangable idea from a customer and turn it into what they want then I feel good. I submitt to all, is it not a greater artist who can bring alive someone elses vision than the one who can bring alive what is in their own mind? Just some thoughts to ponder.
I have never been a very compromising person when it comes to my own standards. If this were a perfect world that would be great. But food on the table and jingle in the pockets is great too!
Posted by RonniesTintSigns (Member # 1669) on :
Museum docent?
Doesn't that mean you work for free? Maybe you are wealthy & don't need the money
[ February 09, 2002: Message edited by: RonniesTintSigns ]
Posted by faye welsh (Member # 2524) on :
very funny, i am as poor as a church mouse. i never knew the word "docent "till this year. i am on a meager wage. wealthy!!!haha-haa-haa. wait, i need to turn up my 0/2!!!i thought it was a cool word, sounded better than a tour guide...we are a pioneer museum ,depicting pioneer life, a log cabin, a blacksmith shop,a replica schoolhouse,a jsgubor, and a church that houses everything. it was built in 1802. i live in the past and love it!!!by the way,it includes a resident ghost. so don't pick on the docent. i'll paint the darn hummingbirds. what abuse!!!fiddles.. Posted by Wm. J. Krupinski (Member # 1746) on :
Faye--
If you are working for a costumer, doesn't that mean you have to wear whatever costumes they tell ya to? I can envision you in a clown costume, riding one of those little bicycles, with yer oxgen tank strapped to your back and a seltzer water bottle, spraying the audience...Oh, wait, maybe you meant CUStomer--in which case you'll need to be CUSS-ing?
Yer Pal--Bill "Krap-in-the-pants-ski"
Posted by faye welsh (Member # 2524) on :
leave it to you ,wiz,to get my dander up!!! if i had to make a living typing, i would be in the unemployment line..i do wear a costume ,you nutball.i was a costumer for the museum, but i am now a tourguide. besides that,you must've been out of body traveling again. i have a clown costume in my closet.doesn't everyone??it seems to me things are getting to personal...what if i asked you boxers or briefs??my costume is a colonial dress and bonnet. sweet and old-fashioned...like me..hee-hee. better watch out for flies,wiz, they bite...
Posted by Wm. J. Krupinski (Member # 1746) on :
Faye--
Briefs--when I'm not cavorting naked in the woods with the wood-nymphs, of course.
better watch out for flies,wiz, they bite...
