The time taken on a painting can vary greatly as the artist will only deem it finished when she is totally satisfied with the result. This period can vary from between one to three months. There are three common procedures.

1. Some clients prefer to have their portrait painted solely from life. This may involve many sittings.

2. The most popular method favoured by clients has been for the artist to work partly from life and partly from photographic references. At the outset a photographic shoot is organised and the pose and setting established at this session. After this the client may only be required for only two or three sittings.

3. Some clients do not have the luxury of time to spare for more than one sitting and the artist then relies solely on the reference material obtained from the photographic shoot and ‘stand in’ models.

The photographs have to meet very specific criteria and for this reason the artist employs her own photographer and this cost is included in the price.