Dick Shook provides oil portraits on commission. Quotes/Rates are available on request and vary according to requirements and usually start at about $1200 (not including travel and other expenses). A 40% retainer is required when work is contracted and queued. Because of scheduling, plan on 3-6 months for completion. Payment arrangments are available. Credit cards are accepted.
Portrait sitting benefits a great deal from photography in part because traditional sittings can be teadious for a client. Working with a professional photographer, Dick selects a variety of poses with thoughtfully calclulated lighting. All photos are reviewed immediately after shooting on a portable computer, sketches and other notes are made, including how various imjages may be composited to create the best reference images. In the studio a large computer monitor sits next to the canvas and easel where the primary refernce composites and all reference photos are available for examination.
Multiple subjects in a single painting are acceptable (and fun to do). Dick enjoys working on large canvas, but small ones are good, too. All completed paintings are commercial scanned and color corrected. Prints are avaialbe for a standard cost per square inch and a small mark-up for handling and shipping. All prints are made on archival quality paper with light fast inks (lifespans of over 200 years).
Dick begins each painting immediately by drawing with a brush and building up forms with light and shadow in underpainting with some modification of the classic methods. Video process records are available for some paintings at www.dickshook.com Progress on all paintings are avaiable for review until completion. For the sake of artistic merit, Dick prefers not to work from home photos, family photos, and so on, with very few exceptions..
Requests for more information can be directed to Lynette Sherer 515-360-2008, lsherer@dickshook.com, or Dick Shook at dick@dickshook.com or call 515-228-3217.