Commission terms

Plain terms for commissioned artwork, so we both know where we stand before anything is burned.

What it costs

Nothing on the Studio page is priced, because no two pieces are the same. Size, wood, subject and hours all move the number. As a frame, most pieces land between four and nine hundred US dollars, shipping included. Tell me what you have in mind and I will give you a figure before you commit to anything.

The drawing comes first

You tell me the subject. I come back with a drawing and a price. Nothing is agreed until you have seen the drawing and said yes to it. This is the stage where changes are free, and it is the reason I work this way.

Deposit and balance

Half when we agree the drawing, half before the piece ships. The deposit is what puts the panel on the bench and reserves the time.

Once burning starts, the drawing is fixed

Wood does not take an eraser. Every change happens before the first mark. If something is wrong after that, tell me and we will work out what is fair, but I cannot un-burn a panel.

Time

Most pieces take four to six weeks from the day we agree the drawing. I send you a photograph partway through so nothing at the end is a surprise. If I fall behind, I will tell you rather than go quiet.

Cancellation

Cancel before I start burning and I return your deposit less the time already spent on the drawing. Once the piece is underway the deposit is not refundable, because the panel and the hours are gone.

Custom work is not returnable

A commissioned piece is made for one person and cannot be sold to anyone else. That is why we agree the drawing first.

Likeness

I work from what the reference photograph shows me. A hand-burned portrait is an interpretation, not a reproduction, and the material has its own grain and its own limits. If the likeness in the drawing is not right, that is the stage to say so.

Shipping and damage

Pieces ship tracked and insured from Puerto Plata, and shipping is included in the price unless we agree otherwise. If a piece arrives damaged, photograph it and the packaging and tell me within seven days, and I will handle the claim and make it right. Import duties and taxes are yours and vary by country. In Puerto Plata I can hand it to you and skip all of this.

Photographs of your piece

I will ask before showing a finished commission on this site or anywhere else. See Privacy for how reference photographs are handled.

Questions

Write to jamaal@jahruss.com.