The Customer is Always Right: Commissioning Art in St. Petersburg, Florida

Commission an artist to create a custom piece, just for you!

Visitors to Brenda McMahon Gallery in downtown Gulfport are familiar with the diversity in medium and styles of our artists. Often visitors to the Gallery fall in love with a particular artist’s work but don't find a piece that’s right for their home décor. This is where one of the most rewarding aspects of being a professional artist comes in – the commission process! 

The commission process can alter slightly from artist to artist. First, the client expresses an interest and the Gallery connects them with the artist. This conversation between client and artist is where some basic design concepts are agreed upon. For instance, some customers have a clear idea of the piece they’d like, the colors they prefer and the size. As a result, it’s a straightforward direction for the artist to take. But other times, customers prefer the artist to take their inspiration from an idea presented or a specific object they’d like represented through art. Either way, our artists strive to produce the piece you are looking for, while always maintaining their compass on aesthetic and design. Here are a few recent commissions!

James Rivoli: Fine Art and Classic Cars

Painter James Rivoli began his career as a fine art painter more than five decades ago. These days, however, he enjoys immortalizing people’s dream cars in custom paintings. For instance, he’s recently been working on several commissions, including this beautiful Jaguar Triumph T3 for a couple in Michigan.

James works from cropped photos, capturing classic car 'jewelry' with reflections in the chrome bumpers and headlights. As a result, the viewer is pulled past the car and into the moment. James will design the composition and do a custom automotive portrait for anyone interested. For a typically sized 16x 20, the process takes about a month. To see more of James' beautiful works, visit brendamcmahongallery.com/collections/james-rivoli.

(Commissioned painting of a Jaguar Triump T3 by James Rivoli)

 Brenda McMahon: Planting Art on the Tree of Life

I’ve been commissioned for several representations of the Tree of Life for clients over the years. I always enjoy the unique perspective the buyer brings to the process. Working closely with the client to determine colors and size, along with optional stones or glass, gives me a peak into the client’s preferred aesthetic...and personality! It’s a wonderful, two-way creative process. Here’s a picture of a recent installation with my gallery manager for another happy client!

If you’d like to commission a piece, reach out to us anytime at brendamcmahongallery@gmail.com. We’d love to work with you! To keep up with our new work follow us on social media @brendamcmahongallery.