Studio
Questions that arise.
- How does a commission proceed?
- You send a photograph and choose a manner and a ground, then settle an edition. The studio prepares the portrait after payment and sends a marked proof. You approve the proof before anything is printed. The digital edition is a file, and it is not printed.
- Do I approve the proof before anything is printed?
- Yes. You approve the proof before anything is printed. The edition is settled first, and the portrait is prepared after payment. A framed edition is passed to the fulfilment house only when you approve that proof. If the proof is not right, do not approve it. No print is started in the meantime. The digital file is not printed.
- Why does the proof carry a mark?
- The proof is marked so it can be considered before it is settled. The mark is removed from the file, and from the image sent for printing, only after payment.
- What is the edition?
- Each portrait is issued as a numbered edition of twenty-five, with a certificate of authenticity. The impression you settle is number one. Further impressions are not offered on this site. The digital commission is £95. The framed fine-art print is £295. The large framed canvas is £595.
- What are the Regal Commissions?
- Officer, aristocrat, admiral and Renaissance noble are oil manners in the spirit of old-master portraiture. The dog is painted in a plain coat or ruff. They are not cartoons, and they are not costume photographs. The sitter should still be recognisable from the photograph you send.
- Can I choose the ground?
- Yes. Four painterly grounds are offered: dark umber, olive court, Venetian red and warm cream. The ground is a field of colour behind the sitter, not a scenic backdrop.
- What does the framing include?
- Framed editions include a museum-grade frame in natural oak, walnut, ebonised wood or a gilded slip. Glazing is UV-filtering. Mounts are cotton and acid-free. The frame is chosen when the edition is settled, and it does not change the price.
- Can a commission be a gift?
- A gift voucher settles one edition in full — digital, framed print or large canvas — at the same prices. It is not itself a portrait. For Christmas, framed editions to be considered for dispatch beforehand should be settled by 4 December 2026. That is a working date, not a guarantee.
- Is the portrait painted by hand?
- No. The portrait is AI-assisted. It is prepared from your photograph, in the manner and on the ground you choose. A person does not paint it. When no model is connected, the proof is a photographic studio study in that manner, so the flow can still be seen.
- What photograph should I send?
- A clear photograph in which the dog’s face is readable, ideally in open shade rather than flash. JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 8 MB. The dog does not need to wear anything. Costume in the regal manners is painted, not photographed.
- What are the Masterpieces?
- Masterpieces are novelty homages. The dog is painted into a famous picture whose painter died more than seventy years ago, and which is public domain in the United Kingdom. Each one is labelled after the artist — Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Vermeer, Jacques-Louis David, Frans Hals, Jan van Eyck, James McNeill Whistler, Thomas Gainsborough, and Emanuel Leutze. They are not the original paintings, and they are not cartoons. American Gothic is not offered.
- Can I see a sketch first?
- Yes. A free sketch can be prepared from your photograph. It is small, in ink, and marked. It is sent to the address you give, if you consent, and one note about the edition follows. The numbered edition is settled afterwards. Nothing is printed until you approve a proof.
- Do London houses keep a card?
- Groomers, walkers and day rooms may keep a counter card. A house receives fifteen per cent of an edition settled with its code. The collector’s price is the same. The code travels on the link as a referral, and, where Stripe is connected, is recorded on the payment as a promotion code.
- How is payment taken?
- Payment is taken by Stripe, in pounds sterling. In a local studio preview without Stripe keys, settlement can be recorded in the ledger so the proof, certificate and file can be tried. That preview does not take money.