A hand-painted commission does not start with paint, it starts with questions. We want to know where the work will hang, what light reaches that wall at different times of day, from what distance it will be seen and what surrounds it: wall colour, furniture, other artworks. A painting that looks great in the studio can go flat in a living room - and the other way round.
The second part of the conversation is mood. Not a literal subject, since abstraction rarely tolerates illustrating specifics. It is about the temperature of the work: whether it should calm the room or build tension, whether it should be quiet and almost invisible, or on the contrary organise the whole wall around itself.
The conversation: space, mood, constraints
At this stage we also agree on the constraints that in practice decide whether the commission succeeds: the largest format that fits up the staircase, the budget, the deadline, and any firm 'no' - colours you do not want at home. The more concrete the constraints, the better the painting, because form always needs boundaries to crystallise.
Then come the sketches. We usually prepare two or three compositional directions as small studies and show them to scale on a photograph of your wall. This is the cheapest moment to change your mind - a revision at sketch stage costs a few hours, a revision on a finished canvas usually means painting it again.
Sketches, format and materials
Once the direction is approved we choose materials. We paint on cotton canvas stretched on a frame and on heavyweight fine art paper; in both cases we use pigments with high lightfastness. A canvas piece is ready to hang unframed, a work on paper needs framing - and we discuss that early, because framing can change how a painting reads more than colour does.
A hand-painted commission usually takes three to six weeks, depending on format and the number of layers - acrylic simply needs time to dry between them. Along the way you receive photographs from each stage. Prices start at roughly PLN 450 for smaller formats and scale with size and compositional complexity; we give an exact quote after the conversation, before any painting begins.
Timelines, pricing and what you receive
Every commissioned painting is one of a kind, signed by hand by Szymon Ługowski and delivered with a certificate of authenticity. To start, write to us through the Commission page or the contact form - a photo of the wall and a few sentences about what you are looking for is enough. If you prefer something available right away, take a look at the gallery: the same compositions are available as hand-signed prints.
A commissioned painting is not a decorating service. It is a conversation that ends up as canvas.