How do I start a custom commission?
First, I want to learn about you and the reason for the commission. Every detail you provide helps guide my intuition for what your painting needs and doesn’t need. I ask for clear reference photos, and, depending on the nature of your commission, I will send you a questionnaire before the sketches and painting begin.
I work with you to identify your desired color palette, size, framing needs, budget, and set a reasonable completion timeline. I will then give you an estimated quote for your project. You can expect to pay a 50% advance for larger projects or 100% up front for smaller projects. Remaining balances are due upon completion.
I love to send sneak peeks of the finished painting before it is delivered, but some clients choose to be surprised, which I also love. Either way, I am honored to work for you and look forward to your first commission. Contact me at rachelborntragerart@gmail.com to begin.
How much does a custom piece cost?
All quotes are based on size, medium, framing, planning, sketching, work time and administration fees. Quote also includes packaging and shipping, as needed. Quote does not include taxes, which are calculated at checkout. All payments final.
Who is your favorite artist?
Today, it is Helen Frankenthaler. I admire her for how she penetrated the male-dominated movement in abstract expressionism and created her own abstract vocabulary through the use of raw canvas and the technique known as “color fielding”– a soaking technique that allows paint to flow and bleed together organically. Frankenthaler had a sense for color combination and compositional balance like no other. Her work works. My husband Chris bought me her “Paintings Retrospective” book and I continue to soak it up like a sponge, with my favorite paintings being: “Sesame”, “Mountains and Sea”, and “Swan Lake II”.
I’m lucky to see Frankenthaler’s original paintings in person here in Northwest Arkansas, Crystal Bridges, including “Pink Bird, Figure II”. Beyond her, I am beginning to appreciate the works of Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, Adolf Gottlieb, and more recently, Albert Oehlen. These artists tell a myriad of stories with their organic shapes, lines, and compositional decisions, and through the titles of their pieces, even, or especially, the “Untitled” ones, allowing viewers to interact with their pieces organically and purely.
How did you begin painting?
My mother. She was the original artist in our family. I was making art before I knew my name was Rachel because of her encouragement. Growing up on a small farm outside St. Louis, Missouri, I found a lot of time for doodling, but my earliest memories of art-making include a split-page art journal my mother gave me. It had a blank space on the upper half and ruled section for journaling on the lower half (popular now- like a primary school journal, but back then the paper was textured and designed specifically for mixed media). I would draw and paint my heart out and then write about it. These are my first memories of painting and I enjoyed it immensely. I owe it to my beautiful Momma, who I miss dearly.
