Frequently Asked Questions

Before or after placing an order, please provide the following:

• Reference photo(s) - up to 3 photos

FOR HOUSE / VENUE / BUSINESS PORTRAITS

• photos of the house/venue you'd like in the painting

• photos of the people/pets you want to be included in the portrait.

FOR PEOPLE / PET PORTRAITS

• of the people/pets you want to be included in the painting.

Refer to the listing details for the number of people/pets included in the portrait. Additional charges may apply for adding more people/pets.

• Specific requests: please take a moment to review all the details in the reference photo(s) and check if you would like me to make any changes to:

• the layout,

• page orientation,

• colors,

• positioning, proportion, and sizes of elements.

Unless you notify me otherwise, I will aim to match the layout, sizes/proportions, and positioning of elements EXACTLY the way they are shown in the photo. There are limited changes I can make after the sketch is completed, and very few things can be changed after the custom painting is completed.

TEMPORARY PROCESSING TIME UPDATE

September through December are my busiest months of the year as I work on holiday and Christmas commissions. Please note that processing times will be longer than usual during this period.

CURRENT PROCESSING TIME

Watercolor portraits: 6-7 weeks after placing an order. Fully booked for Christmas delivery, please note, your order will not arrive by Christmas!

During the week your portrait is scheduled to be painted, you will receive an email with a pencil sketch for your approval and then photos of the completed painting within 2-4 days after the approval. I only ship if you are happy with the result.

Limited rush processing is available; please contact me for availability.

Pencil portraits:

3-4 weeks after placing an order.

During that time frame you will receive an email with a preliminary pencil sketch (outlines only) for your approval and then photos of the completed drawing within 1-2 days after the approval. I only ship if you are happy with the result.

​

Prints:

Unframed and matted prints: 5 business days

Framed prints: up to 15 business days

Watercolor is actually a reasonably quick medium and each custom watercolor painting takes 2-5 days to complete. The only reason for long wait times is commitment to other clients who placed their orders before yours. I paint commissions in the order I receive them and unfortunately won't have an update on your painting until the week it's been booked for, when I finally start working on it.

Appreciate your understanding!

You can send your reference photos for your custom portrait in one of the following ways:

1. upload photos on my website during checkout:

2. if you need more time to prepare the photos, you can skip uploading them during checkout and upload them later to the website:

https://www.janedeart.com/photo-upload

3. Email it to me:

dejanejanede@gmail.com.

(If an attachment size prompt comes up when you hit Send, please select Actual Size, or if not available, the biggest available size offered to preserve the picture quality).

4. Use the Chat With Me button on any page of the website

The look of the portrait depends heavily on the reference photos you send, as it’s the only way for me to understand the layout, color palette, and overall look of the scene you want me to paint for you.

Here are a few tips of what to look out for when choosing reference photos.

❌ TOP THINGS TO AVOID

• Backlit photos where the entire façade is in shadow

• Low quality or grainy / blurry photos where some or all of the details are not clear

• An abundance of small details throughout the photo results in a busy-looking overdone painting (especially for small-sized paintings)

• Photos with no shadows. Such photos lack contrast and result in a gray and gloomy look in the end

• Photos taken on cloudy, overcast days

✔️ TOP THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR PORTRAIT BETTER

• High-quality clear photos that show all the details clearly

• Photos taken in daylight on a nice sunny day

• Photos with long, well-defined shadows.

Check out THIS blog post with some photo examples of which photos work best for a watercolor portrait.

• Upon placing an order, I will reserve a slot in my commissions calendar when your watercolor painting will be completed and shipped. A placed order is required to hold a calendar slot.

• During the scheduled week, you will first receive a pencil sketch for your approval via email first. It is for you to let me know if you want me to make any changes before I start painting.

• After approval, you’ll receive photos of the completed painting via email within 2-4 days.

• I will only ship the painting it if you are happy with the final result.

✔️ ACCEPTABLE CHANGES

AFTER THE SKETCH HAS BEEN COMPLETED:

• eliminating, resizing or moving individual elements without impact to the rest of the sketch,

• (for artworks including any text) changing the font or the text.

AFTER THE ENTIRE PAINTING HAS BEEN COMPLETED:

As watercolor cannot be erased after it's been put on paper, there are very few changes I can make at this stage, limited to only darkening or adding more color to individual elements.

❌ CHANGES THAT CANNOT BE MADE

AFTER THE SKETCH HAS BEEN COMPLETED:

• zooming in/out,

• page orientation,

• resizing major elements involving resizing more than a quarter of other elements in the sketch, using a different reference photo,

• drawing the entire subject or individual elements from a different angle.

AFTER THE ENTIRE PAINTING HAS BEEN COMPLETED:

In addition to the changes listed above, alterations like

• eliminating elements,

• changing positioning, sizes or colors of elements are NOT possible at this stage without full repaint of the artwork.

Changes resulting in a full sketch re-draw or a full artwork re-paint CANNOT BE PROCESSED without delaying other clients' commissions. These cases will unfortunately result in an order cancellation and a refund. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

In most cases I can combine multiple photos into one painting, if your reference photos to be combined meet the following criteria:

• they can be combined into a collage, like two puzzle pieces. In other words, you can cut the object / area from one photo EXACTLY AS SHOWN IN THE PHOTO and paste it into the other photo resulting in a cohesive scene.

✔️ TYPICAL REQUESTS I CAN ACCOMMODATE

FOR WEDDING VENUES / HOUSE PORTRAITS

• Adding people pets into the portrait (reference photos need to show them exactly as you want them in the painting).

• Adding foliage, flowers, landscape elements,

• Combining two photos of the same view (like two puzzle pieces) that you couldn't fit in one photo because of landscape obstructions (there is a fence hedges trees that don't allow you to go far enough back to fit it in one photo).

FOR PEOPLE / PET PORTRAITS

• Combining photos of the same person pet to show them in a different pose (ONLY if your reference photos can literally be connected as puzzle pieces and still look natural). PLEASE NOTE: I cannot combine different elements of the same face.

❌ REQUESTS I CANNOT ACCOMMODATE

Photos from different viewpoints (for example, different sides of the house/venue, venue house photos taken straight ahead with photos of pets taken from above).

Yes I do!

I am based in NY and Northern California, but available for weddings across the US and internationally (NOTE: travel fees apply).

Check my Live Wedding Painting section for details of the process or to request pricing information and availability.

You can find reviews in the "Reviews" section of the website or under individual product listings.