Portraits are special – they capture a moment in time in far greater depth than any photograph and they almost certainly will outlive us and be seen by generations to come.
Very few of us, I suspect, have commissioned a portrait before and are therefore, understandably, rather nervous of what might be involved. For this reason I always have an initial meeting to discuss ideas for the portrait which can either take place at my studio, or in your home, if that’s more convenient. Together we need to agree on exactly the portrait you’d like - its size, the medium to be used (oil, charcoal, pastel), the clothes you’d like to wear, the background or setting, the frame, where it might be hung and any other questions or ideas that you might have. I usually paint commissions in my Fulham studio in West London but I am happy to travel to you – although this will add a bit to the cost.
The price of the portrait will depend on what is commissioned. Payment is made in two stages. Half in advance of the first sitting (once we have determined the details of the portrait) and the balance on completion and before collection. The quote will not include framing unless you specify that you’d like that at our initial meeting, so that the cost of my trusted framers may be included. Alternatively, you could wait to decide on the frame until you’ve seen the finished portrait.
Once we’ve agreed on the detail of what you’d like and where I’m going to paint it, the next stage involves scheduling the sittings. In my experience sittings are essential, to complement the series of reference photographs I will take in our first session. The number of sittings is determined by what sort of portrait you’d like – from my point of view, the whole process usually takes three months from start to finish and could be less if things are a bit quieter. As a guide, a head and shoulder portrait, painted entirely from life, ideally takes about five or six sittings of three hours – I should point out that this isn’t all sitting - we take regular breaks to stretch and have refreshments – I do want you to enjoy the experience! If you are too busy to commit to this number of sittings, I can use the reference pictures more, although I will still require a minimum of three sittings – one at the beginning, the middle and at the end – each for a couple of hours. These details will be discussed at the initial meeting, all you really need to know, is that I am completely flexible to how much time you have to set aside for the portrait – though I would remind you that this portrait is going to be around for years and years and therefore the more time you can find, the better.
“I am absolutely thrilled with the two, individual portraits of my daughters that I commissioned from Kathy Barker.
Katharine and Josephine are in their 20s and, it is fair to say, were not very keen to sit initially. However, the combination of Kathy’s inimitable joie de vivre and her outstanding talent won them round completely. By the end of the process, both expressed to me how genuinely sad they were that it was “over”!
Katharine and Josephine, very different in many respects, have an unbreakable sisterly bond. Kathy managed to capture not only each of their characters and appearances but also, most importantly, that indefinable, very special connection.
I could not have been more impressed with the finished results.”
— Jane Bailey
“Kathy Barker is a wonderful warm and very talented artist. Her portrait of me took a handful of visits which were in themselves a pleasure and the finished article was amazing. She even modified it, on my request, to give me a bit of a boob lift!
I couldn’t recommend her skill and company more highly….”
— Charlotte Page
“Patrick has just shown the portrait that you did to us and some friends. We all thought that it was great and were very pleased indeed. You certainly have a great talent and it was very pleasant sitting for you. Thank you very much for doing it. It will be cherished in our family. All the best-”
— Ernest Kirwan
“Kathy made sitting for our portrait an easy experience and we’re delighted with the results”.
— Sarah Bilgore and Family
“In early 2019 a friend of mine commissioned Kathy Barker to paint my portrait as a 70th birthday present. I met Kathy in her studio for a preliminary session. With her extraordinary artist’s eye, she asked that for future sittings I wear a different coloured shirt as the light reflected from the one I was wearing was not pleasing.
I sat for Kathy once a week over the next few weeks. I enjoyed my sessions with Kathy as she quickly put me at ease, and we chatted freely whilst she worked.
It was fascinating watching the portrait develop and come to life. Friends who have seen the finished work say that the likeness is spot on, but that above that she has captured my “essence”. I am delighted with the portrait of me that Kathy painted and proud to hang it at home.
It is a wonderful and different gift. I recommend that anyone who wants their own portrait painted, or as in my case someone else’s painted as a present, I can think of no better artist than Kathy to carry out the commission. I highly recommend her.”
— Andrew Cordell
“Kathy Barker is a very talented artist. Her charcoal drawing of me caught the nuances of my character, as well as the likeness of my face. The finished article was amazing and all my family members thought it was a lovely cherishable item to have. I couldn't recommend her skill and company more highly. Thank you Kathy.”
— Rima