Blogs Details
A question I get asked quite often is “How much would it cost to have a portrait done of someone and cast in bronze?” I really enjoy doing portraits because it is such a challenge. The goal is to try and capture something of that persons spirit in clay, not just a likeness.
Often people will see the prices of my limited edition line of sculptures and assume that a private commission would be in that range. I create sculptures that come purely from my own imagination or sometimes from famous dancers that pose for me. I will make a mold of these sculptures and from that mold I am able to reproduce a small quantity of them, hence a limit amount or limited edition. That will spread the cost of the original sculpture out over several reproductions. People are often shocked at the price difference between a limited edition and commission work.
I must build up the body of the sculpture and I do this with aluminum wire and spray foam. I like spray foam because I can add or subtract as I need to. After I have the base outline in foam I will start adding the plasticine. I am constantly checking and rechecking the proportions to make sure that I am on track. I keep a tape measure by my side and I have drawn some check points onto the boards. The anatomical dimensions I use are the classic 8 heads tall. I have the sketch taped up next to me to help me keep on track. You can see some of the aluminum wire for her legs here.
Sometimes I will do a portrait of a famous dancer or athlete and and while that is technically a portrait I can justify it because it is marketable as a limited edition. I am sometimes asked to make a portrait of an individual and sell reproductions to off set the cost however, there is just a very limited clientele that would be interested in purchasing a sculpture of a potential client’s specific idea.
When I come up with an idea for a limited edition sculpture, I usually sculpt it on what is called speculation. I think of an idea for a sculpture and how marketable I think it would be, if I don’t think enough people will want to buy it, I can’t afford to sculpt it.
When I am hired by a client to sculpt their private commission, I am working just for them. Of course there are many perks to getting your own design in a sculpture, but the client assumes the responsibility of paying for all of my costs. On the other hand, with a limited edition, many people will ultimately share the cost of the sculpture.
I should note that there has been a time or two that somebody has approached me with a private commission and I have given them a great deal on the basis that I can make more than one because I see the possibility of selling more than one. For example, a client approached me with an idea of creating a life sized “Pandora” from a small maquette that they saw in my studio. I thought that was a great idea, so instead of charging him for the whole cost of one, I made him a deal which was quite a bit less. It paid for my sculpting and mold making. I’ll sell about five or more life sized “Pandoras”.
Also, until we have fleshed out all the particulars of a commission piece it is hard to come up with a price. Every commission is a one of a kind so there is not one price fits all. What I normally do first is have a meeting with the client to find out what they are interested in and as much history on the subject as possible. I take into account their possible budget and time frame. Then I will do a rough sketch just to see if I am on point. If it looks good then I can generally give the client and estimate.
For more information feel free to email me lori@betzartfoundry.com or call 713-576-6954
