getting started

At the onset of a commission, a few pieces of information help establish direction as well as prevent hiccups along the way. We ask for:

1) One point-of-contact to work with from start to completion.

2) One or two references of previous works to establish a general direction for the piece. While the references are very helpful in giving Joelle a broad sense of the client’s hopes for the painting, they act just as loose inspiration in guiding her artistic choices. No two paintings will be the same.

3) If specific color palettes are requested, Benjamin Moore paint color references provided to us are helpful. Joelle layers her hand-mixed oil paints to create her art, allowing indiscernible under-layers to effect over-layers. The method allows her to achieve her luminous, textural effect but doesn’t allow for perfect color matching. However, she still finds paint references helpful, especially in white and beige-tone requests that specifically lean warm or cool.

4) Dimensions and display orientation for the piece.

5) Frame selection. Please view some options at https://www.joellesomero.com/framing.

6) Half-down deposit.

process

The artistic production includes building stretcher bars, stretching canvas, sketching, building collage layers, and curing before subsequent paint layers begin. After oil paint layers are applied, the piece is left again to cure until framing, photographing and sending to the client. During this time we typically have little to report until final photos are sent.

completion

At completion photos are sent for client review. Upon approval, final shipping and payment details are confirmed and the piece is crated and shipped. Joelle’s hope is that her art will offer a moment of pause in the day of the viewer and is delighted when the piece finally meets the collector.

In the event that a change to the art piece is requested, Joelle will consider input, however changes are not typically feasible; collage elements are unable to be moved and new collage elements cannot be added. Color block placement changes are possible, however painting over the dried art results in loss of the luminous, textural effect that was created during paint layering. The opportunity for input, listed above in no. 2 (“Getting Started”) is the client’s opportunity to openly share specific ideas. If Joelle feels the requested change is inadvisable she will leave the original painting as is. Lastly, our policy is to reimburse deposit in the rare case a piece isn’t a good fit for the client.