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Frequently Asked
Questions: |
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1. Are your portraits computer generated
images? No, your portrait will be a genuine, highly
detailed, hand-drawn, graphite rendering on high-quality acid free paper. For
orders, please email orders@thompsonportraits.com. For anything other than ordering my email
is beth@thompsonportraits.com. My average turn-around time is approximately 2-3
weeks but this will depend on my current workload and how many subjects are
in the photo. You have the option of
ordering express for an additional fee (see ordering
procedure). With an express order,
the portrait will be mailed within one week. Express orders cannot have more than 2
subjects. I cannot guarantee a
delivery date when using USPS due to the varying speeds of the mail service.
If it is important that your portrait be to you by a certain date we
can discuss shipping it through FedEx at an additional expense.
It is more convenient for me to handle correspondence through email, but if it would make you more comfortable, then yes of course. Please see the contact page for my telephone number. 5. How will my portrait be shipped? After
being sprayed with a fixative to prevent smudging and yellowing, your
portrait will be shipped like a photograph; in a flat, unbendable
envelope. Portraits 14x17 and up will
be shipped in a mail-tube. I
routinely use USPS and will ship anywhere in the world at your expense. The price for Insured Priority shipping to
a 6. Why does it seem so expensive? When
you think about the hours put into the very
detailed portrait you will receive, it will not seem expensive. Each single subject portrait takes a minimum of 25 hours to complete, with
the average being more like 50 hours.
More subjects obviously means more hours put in. 7. Will the portrait I receive be a print of
the drawing? No, you
will receive the original
drawing. I will only keep a digital
image of it to display on my website as a sample for other customers to see. 8. How do I pay for my portrait? At the
moment, I prefer the use of PayPal (www.paypal.com). With PayPal you may pay by credit card or
however you choose. Recently Paypal
has changed and I am able to receive credit card payments through them by
sending you an email invoice, you do not have to be a member of Paypal, and
it will not cost you any extra. This
is the most convenient, safest, and quickest way to pay for both
parties. I will also accept Check or
Money Order, however the portrait will not be started until the money order
arrives or the check has cleared. The
details of payment will be discussed during the ordering procedure. 9. What currencies do you accept? If you
pay by credit card I can accept US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Pound Sterling,
Euros, and Yen. By check or money
order only US Dollars. 10. Why do you ask for a nonrefundable deposit? Due to
the long hours, materials, and hard work I put into each portrait I cannot
take the chance of a customer ordering the portrait and then deciding not to
pay for it. I ask for 50% down as a
safeguard against losing out completely.
Since each person that orders a portrait has chosen me from looking at
samples of my work, they are deciding that I am the artist they are going to
trust with their portrait. I used to
ask for the entire amount up front, but have changed that as a compromise
with the customer….a meeting of trusts so to speak. ;) 11. Can you create one portrait from multiple
photos? Yes. If you have, for example, 3 different people
in 3 different photos that you would like combined into one portrait that can
be done. I will not however, take the
hair from one photo and put it on the face of another photo. I do not know the people in the photograph
and due to different lighting conditions I could get the likeness totally
wrong trying to “piece together” a person. 12. Will you do my portrait in color? Generally,
no. I specialize in black and white
graphite only portraits. If you would
like something like your pet’s eyes to be blue, or the scarf on your daughter
to be red…that can be worked out. 13. I want my dog and my car in my portrait; do
they count as “figures”? Yes,
each subject, whether human or not, counts as a figure when the price is
determined. In some circumstances
additional figures in a drawing will be considered “custom additions” and
will be counted as only half a subject. Please
keep in mind - I strive to capture the best likeness I can from your
photos and depending on the quality of the photos, the results may
vary. Each drawing is a work |
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