Commissioning a Portrait by Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy
Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy lives and works in East Anglia, but undertakes portrait commissions throughout the world. Although best known for her portraits of high profile sitters, and especially that of Her Majesty The Queen (commissioned by The Commonwealth to mark Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee in 2002), Chinwe's portraits vary widely. These range from formal boardroom and academic portraits, to domestic commissions including family groups.
Chinwe uses a range of media, but prefers to paint in oils on canvas or to draw in pastels on coloured paper. Her prices for a UK-based commission for paintings range from £2,000 from a head and shoulders pastel drawing, to £15,000 for a full length oils portrait. Sittings can be arranged to suit the client - at the home or workplace, or in the artist's studio.
Commissioning a portrait is not something to be undertaken lightly and a successful commission will involve time and effort on both sides, as well as establishing a good personal rapport. Luckily, Chinwe has an uncanny knack for putting her sitters at ease and likes to chat whilst working so that she can study and record how a face animates and changes during conversation.
The commissioning process begins with a meeting between artist and sitter (or artist, sitter and commissioning committee) to determine what type of portrait is required. It may be that it is to hang alongside a series of portraits of the great and the good and needs to be of a particular size and to include appropriate dress or iconography. Discussion will follow on budget and timescale. Typically, a third of the artist's fee is payable in advance further payment at the half way stage and a final payment on completion. All expenses (travel, framing, photography etc) are charged at cost.
The next stage is the first sitting. A pastel study may be completed in one sitting, whereas a full length oils portrait will involve several sittings, sometimes involving the artist in making drawings, working on preparatory studies in oils and pastels and sometimes taking photographs to be used as source material for the final work. It may be, in the case of a group portrait, that Chinwe will recommend making individual studies of each sitter before gathering the group together as a whole. Only the finished commissioned portrait is included in her fee, although other studies will be made available for sale.
A brochure about Chinwe's portrait is attached to this site in the form of a PDF file which can be easily opened via a free download of Adobe Acrobat . Please email the artist to arrange a visit to her studio to see further examples of her work 'in the flesh' and to discuss your requirements in person.
To contact for commissions and booking please use the following details:
Tel: +44 (0)1728 746571
Fax: +44 (0)1728 746571
Skype: chinwechukwuogoroy
Email: chinwe@chinwe.com