Custom Still Life, Landscape and Portrait Commissions
Keep your most cherished items as part of your daily life, forever preserved on canvas.
Patrick Kelly Wise paints fine art commissions for clients nationwide. Subjects include portraits, homes, businesses, boats, pets, landscapes, and still lifes. He works from the client's reference photos and sends progress updates for feedback along the way. Each piece is painted in his contemporary realism style on archival linen canvas. Most commissions take 8–10 weeks from consultation to delivery. They make meaningful gifts for anniversaries, milestones, and family keepsakes. Finished paintings ship nationwide, and Patrick hand-delivers within 25 miles of Harbor Springs, Michigan.
Patrick offers custom paintings across a wide range of subjects, including formal and informal portraits, wedding portraits, homes, businesses, pets, and personal scenes. Special requests are also accommodated to ensure your artwork reflects exactly what you imagine.
PAINTING REFERENCE
When planning a commissioned painting, there are a few approaches to capture your subject. I can work from high-quality photographs that you provide, ensuring every detail is accurate. Alternatively, I can work on-site from direct observation, creating quick sketches and reference photographs to faithfully translate the subject onto canvas, depending on the circumstances.
I am able to turn simple photographs into great works of art, made personal to you and to last for generations to come.
This flexible process allows each commission to be tailored to the subject and your preferences, ensuring the final painting reflects both accuracy and artistic expression.
How the process works
One
CONTEXT & CONSULTATION
Let's talk about your custom painting! I can help you decide the size of the canvas and other details that will make your commission personal and unique to you. Please send an email, call, or text to get the conversation started!
Two
STUDIO TIME
I work from my home studio and can send you progress updates for your approval. Commissions usually take 8-10 weeks from planning to completion. Oils take a little more time to set up, so I will make sure the painting is completely dry and ready to hang before I ship it to you or meet you for personal hand delivery.
Three
UNVEILING
All work can be hand delivered within a 25 mile radius of Harbor Springs, or I can have work professionally shipped to you.
Four
Enjoy your one-of-a-kind piece
Enjoy your painting for years to come. I use only high-quality painting materials on archival linen canvas. Your painting becomes part of your family's history and can adorn a wall wherever you live. Oil paintings are not only timeless, but they last for future generations.
What you can expect when we collaborate:
Support and guidance along the way to ensure your vision comes to life.
A highly personalized experience with a Master Artist who has over 30 years experience.
Artwork that is emotion-led and intuitively created
Have Questions?
View the FAQ or Investment Details
© all images are property of Patrick Kelly Wise, all rights reserved
Kind Words
Custom Painting Commission FAQs
Thinking about commissioning a custom painting of a loved one, home, boat or favorite place? These answers cover pricing, reference photos, gift timing and what to expect when you work with Patrick Kelly Wise.
-
The price mostly depends on canvas size, how complex the subject is, and how many figures or details it includes. A multi-person portrait or a detailed home usually costs more than a simple landscape of the same size. For a quote, contact Patrick Kelly Wise to talk through your idea and preferred size.
-
Clear, sharp, well-lit photos taken at the highest resolution you have. Natural daylight is best, and the subject should fill most of the frame. Several angles of the same subject help too. Avoid heavily filtered, blurry or very dark images, because fine details are hard to paint accurately from them.
-
Yes, often. An artist can combine elements from different photos, such as a family member who couldn’t be in the picture, a pet or a favorite background, into one composition. Share every photo you’d like included during your consultation, and Patrick can advise on how best to bring them together.
-
Yes. Memorial portraits are usually painted from existing photos, including older prints that can be scanned. If you only have a few images, send the best ones you have. Patrick can review them and talk with you about what details to focus on.
-
At least 10 weeks before the date, plus time for shipping. Patrick’s commissions usually take 8–10 weeks from consultation to delivery. Oil paintings also need to dry completely before they’re shipped or hand-delivered. For December holidays, starting by early fall gives you the most breathing room.
-
Yes. Patrick sends progress updates for your feedback and approval during studio time. Changes are easiest to make early, while the composition is still taking shape. So the more detail you share up front about colors, mood and must-have elements, the smoother the process.
-
It depends on the wall and the room. A common guideline is a piece about two-thirds the width of the furniture it hangs over, such as a sofa or mantel. Detailed subjects like homes or group portraits usually benefit from a larger canvas. Patrick helps clients decide on size during the consultation.
-
It depends on what you’re after. A print is a lower-cost way to enjoy an existing image. A commission is a one-of-a-kind oil painting of your own subject, painted on archival linen, which a print can’t offer. Commissions are typically chosen as heirlooms meant to be passed down.
-
Yes. Businesses are one of Patrick’s commission subjects. A painting of a storefront, headquarters, family business or company landmark works well for a lobby, an anniversary celebration, a retirement gift or a thank-you to a longtime partner.
-
Yes. Patrick paints commissions for clients nationwide, and many clients choose a cottage, a lake view or a favorite spot around Harbor Springs or Little Traverse Bay. Finished paintings are professionally shipped. Clients within 25 miles of Harbor Springs can choose hand delivery instead.