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  • #983167

    I’ve had an eBay customer contact me about a commission– she’s asked whether I would do a much larger version of am abstract I have up for auction. YAY!

    So I’m figuring my supply costs so I can come up with an estimate. I’ll propose a nonrefundable fee that covers my supplies, the balance payable if she likes the painting. Is that reasonable?

    I’m nervous about shipping though. It seems as if shipping costs will be very high on a 48 X 36, and I don’t even know what carrier will take a package this large. I want to include the shipping particulars in the proposal.

    Help?

    Genie

    #1004773

    I’m assuming you’re painting on something that can’t be taken off stretchers? (or you prefer not to take off stretchers)

    I’ve shipped a stretched canvas to Japan using UPS Expedited. Mailboxes Etc. packed it for me (approx. £25 fee) Size was about 40″x30″ and they had art boxes bigger than that. It cost £180 (about $270 for a $600 painting) London to Tokyo.

    *Don’t* undercut yourself on the shipping – find a courier and be very upfront about the cost. Include packing as it can take a heck of a lot of time to properly package something this size (which I why I was happy to pay them to do it for me – they’re so QUICK! :)).

    You could look in the phone book for courier deliveries, maybe ring around? Look for art couriers too, we have specialist shippers here for art and they are much cheaper. Also worth asking around to see if you have any friends working somewhere where they have a good deal with a courier. You can get prices that aren’t available to individuals that way, since large trade couriers work on an account basis. Particularly, try and friends working for printers, publishers, or selling/manufacturing anything fragile.

    Best of luck!!!! It’s always intimidating to have to send big things. If you fancy a holiday you could always pack it in your car and drive it to them for the cost of gas and time. :D

    Tina.

    Abstract coast and geology art: www.tina-m.com | Art/Science gallery: www.grejczikgallery.com

    #1004770

    A painting this size is best shipped unstretched and rolled in a tube. The client will save a bundle and the painting will arrive undamaged. Eric Schaap always sells his pieces ( usually 30×40 and 30×60) on ebay, unstretched. I do the same. I have a 24×30 commission that I am shipping to the client this way, using FedEx.
    ( they also provide free shipping tubes). Unless your client lives very far away from a framing facility, she will be happy to get the painting rolled up. The expense of re-stretching will be far less that the shipping expense and the painting will arrive undamaged..
    R

    #1004776
    kjsspot
    Default

        Rita, when you send your paintings unstretched, do you also ship the stretcher bars or just the painting?

        Thanks!

        KJ
        #1004771

        Stretcher bars are not included in the price of the painting (especially a commission).
        I ask the client if he wants stretcher bars or not.

        R

        #1004777
        kjsspot
        Default

            On the stretchers that you use, are you using the ready made ones or self made?

            I’m thinking about going this route, but am uncertain on how to proceed. I’m afraid that if I make my own, they won’t think they are of good enough quality once they arrive, IF they want them. I need to take this leap into doing larger peices, but am still a bit uncertain about all the ins and outs and expectations.

            KJ
            #1004775

            I’ve also considered painting larger, but have pretty much decided that for the forseeable future, given the kind of work I’m interested in doing, 24″ x 30″ is about my max. Is it reasonable to ship this, or have I crossed the line where it is better shipped unstretched and rolled? Also, if you roll, is it painted side inside, or outside, and what diameter tube is best?

            #1004778
            kjsspot
            Default

                Oh no, I ship 24×36 all the time. Just stay inside the 108″ length + girth limit for your box and it’s still very managable.

                After you pass that 108″ limit, I’d ship rolled. (although you can still go ground up to 130″)

                From what I understand:
                Acrylic – roll w/paint outside
                Oil – roll w/paint inside

                KJ
                #1004772

                The painting should always be rolled with the painted surface outside, does not make any difference if it’s oil or acrylic.
                I use ready made stretcher bars.

                R

                #1004774

                A few questions about shipping paintings rolled in a tube:

                1. How long would you expect an oil painting to take to dry enough to roll? Wouldn’t it need to cure a bit longer than a painting that would be shipped stretched…or not?

                2. How do you prepare the canvas to paint? Do you stretch it yourself and just not staple it into the stretchers very tightly? I can see myself gouging bits out of the canvas trying to remove staples to get it off the bars to roll. That must not be the way to go about it.

                3. If the client wanted the painting to end up gallery-wrapped rather than framed, would the average frame shop be able to manage that, or is that just not a viable possibility? I can’t imagine what it would cost to frame a painting this large.

                4. Any idea what an average charge would be to stretch a canvas this large once it’s received?

                5. What diameter tube? Do you put some sort of paper/plastic on top of the painting before rolling it?

                Maybe she would settle for a 30 X 40 instead of a 36 X 48 if I explain how much easier that would be. :rolleyes:

                Genie

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