Have you had a portrait painted of your child?

[BeachBum]

I would like to have a portrait painted of my son. It just so happens that an art gallery near me is featuring a commissioned artist in the next few months. I do like his work, some things much more than others. It's not your typical oil on canvas formal stuff...it's a little more funky, impressionistic...
My son is will be 2.75 when the artist is here. I had always thought I would wait until DS was 5, but this seems like a good opportunity.

I'm just wondering how much is reasonable to pay? How your experience went? How old was your child? Was it done from a picture or did you sit for it? Any general tips or thoughts?

thanks.

[Bean606]

We were at a local art show and saw this guy's watercolors, and I fell in love with them. I had never seen such realistic watercolors. He had a couple of portraits for sale, and I asked if he did them, and he said he really doesn't anymore (he's in his 70s) unless the inspiration hits him. I asked him if we could give him some photos of DS, no pressure, but to see if he got "inspired." 3 months later, he called us and said he had two paintings to show us, so we met with him. One was absolutely AWESOME of my son when he was about 8 months old, and it perfectly captured him. The other one was just OK, but we bought both. He charged us $300 for both and also made some large prints of the one we liked better as free gifts (we gave them to the grandparents). We have one hanging in our living room and the other in our bedroom.

[BeachBum]

Monday Morning Bump :)