How a commission runs

• You send your photographs and tell us what you would like.
• We write back with a price and a description of the piece.
• You approve both, and pay the deposit. Nothing begins before that.
• The piece is drawn, and photographed for your approval.
• You pay the balance, and it is packed and posted.

Quotes

A quote is based on the photographs and the details agreed at the time, and holds for 14 days. Changing the subject, the size, or the number of figures changes the price, and we will say so before carrying on.

Paying

A deposit of 50% of the agreed price books your place and pays for the materials and the time set aside. The balance falls due once the finished piece has been approved, and before it is posted. Your place is booked when the deposit clears, not when it is sent.

The photographs you send

Send clear, close, well-lit pictures. A drawing can only be as good as what it is drawn from, and a blurred or dark photograph limits what is possible.

By sending a photograph you confirm that you took it, or that you have the photographer’s permission, and that anyone recognisable in it is content to be drawn. We may ask you to confirm this before starting.

A drawing, not a copy

Every piece is drawn by hand. Tone, mark and arrangement are judgements made while drawing, and small differences from the photograph are part of the work rather than a fault in it.

Changes along the way

You get 2 rounds of small changes at no cost, asked for at the stage they are offered. Changes beyond that, or after you have approved the finished piece, are quoted separately. A change of subject, size or format is a new commission.

How long it takes

Most pieces take about four to eight weeks from the deposit clearing and the final photographs arriving. That is an honest estimate, not a promise, and it moves with how many pieces are already in hand.

A fixed date can be agreed, but only in writing before the work begins. If anything is going to be late you will hear it from us early, not on the day.

If you change your mind

• Before drawing has begun: the deposit is returned, less any payment charges we cannot recover.
• After drawing has begun: the deposit is not returned, because it has paid for work already done and for a place another commission could have had.
• If you have paid more than the deposit: the part that covers work not yet done is returned.

A piece made to your specification is not covered by the usual right to change your mind about a purchase, because it cannot be sold to anyone else. Your rights if something arrives faulty or not as described are untouched — see Refunds & Cancellations.

If we cannot go on

If illness or anything else means the piece cannot be finished, everything you have paid is returned in full, including the deposit. We would rather return your money than hand you something we are not proud of.

What we will not draw

We may decline any request, and will say so early. That includes anything unlawful, anything hateful, anything we cannot get the necessary permission for, and anything we would not want to have drawn.

Who owns what

You own the drawing itself once it is paid for. Maranda Mathis keeps the copyright, as an artist normally does. What that means in practice is set out in Copyright & Image Use.

Showing the finished piece

Unless you tell us otherwise, we may photograph your piece and the work in progress and show it on this site and on social media, without naming you. Ask at any time, before or after, and it comes down.

Gifts

If a piece is a present, tell us the date it is needed for before we start, so we can say honestly whether it can be done.

Talking to us

Write to Show the address. Last updated August 29, 2026.