Has anyone received such a request - asking if they would paint a previously sold painting again? Just curious how other artists handle these requests (I have gotten quite a few in the past, and just got another one now). In all instances, a print was not desired.
It has not happened to me but it has happened to a fellow artist friend of mine. She did paint another painting from her reference photo that she used for the first one but she asked that the person who requested it not post anything about it as the two collectors did not know each other. She thought it would be different in some way anyway and in the end the new collector requested a slightly different main color (it was a seascape) so it ended up quite different in the end.
Another approach, if you think that your subject will be popular, is to do a series of original paintings of this subject and number them accordingly: Oak at Sunrise 1, Oak at Sunrise 2, and on up. Explain that each is an original painting - similar, but not identical, to its predecessor. How many times did Monet paint that haystack?
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Yep, I did it for someone who was unable to be online to make a final bid and was disappointed to lose a painting. I’m sure the buyer never knew. No two paintings are ever exactly alike, anyway, and a second version is often an improvement.
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Yep, happened a few times. I changed the subsequent pieces enough to not be that close but give similar look.
Also, I have painted 2 or 3 from same reference photos recently as an experiment and because I am so much faster with the 2nd and 3rd, people like to spend much less than I like to make… 
I also think they are much better than the first too.
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As most have pointed out…it is quite difficult to do a painting again and have it
turn out exactly the same, so wouldn’t think it a problem. I’m sometimes asked to do paintings in a different size “just like that one” and of course the same holds true…never exactly the
same, lol.
I once had to paint the same painting 4 times, but as it has already been said, each one was slightly different.
The lady who bought the original one did ask for a certificate of authenticity to show it was the original. xx
If you go to my gallery you will see I have painted the same Ketchup bottle with tomatoes 3 times for 3 different client. But each have different tomatoes. I’ve done it for Ball jars and Coke bottles. Change up the strawberries and the position of the bottles. What I do is take a new picture and send it to the client… He then gives me the go ahead. I will never make the same painting twice but I will make a similar one! I don’t offer prints… I really have to look into that (I keep saying that)
I have painted and sold six versions of one popular painting of a heron so far. The technique I use for it ensures that each is different to the others. After painting it six times I am tired of painting that motif and I think it will be a while before I do another one.
I tell people who want a repeat painting that I am an artist, not a copy machine, so their version will not be exactly the same.
So far I have done a few similar versions of popular paintings, but, since I have only recently started selling, most of them have been for family members as gifts. I tend to find if I use the same reference and do something similar, it gets tighter with the second version…and I get completely bored! and wild horses won’t get me to do a third! Wow, David, I could never manage to do six that are even remotely similar - and I agree, we are definitely NOT copy machines!! But many times I feel as if my small paintings are simply rehearsals for something larger, so, to me, there is not much benefit as an artist to doing the same size again…but, if someone came to me and offered me $$'s, would I do it? Probably!!
What a great idea though so far no one has asked me to do this.
Did you produce this certificate yourself on a word processor? I haven’t any idea how to do this other than that.
So sorry just saw you question. The gallery that sold the paintings did the certificate. I wouldn’t know how to either.
I had someone ask if I would paint a smaller version of one of my large paintings - so that it would cost less. Like an idiot, I did it. Then they decided that they didn’t want it after all. Oh well…
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This is why I never take commissions.
It’s too much pressure to produce something that the client might ultimately not like, and there’s nothing you can do about that.
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The request I had gotten that sparked this thread was for a much larger version of a small painting I had done some time ago. Funny thing was, I was thinking of doing a larger version before the request came in. At any rate, it was done, she loved it & paid for it plus shipping (to Canada). I almost didn’t follow up on her request as I was afraid it was a scam!!
As far as commissions, I always ask for 1/2 upfront. If the deal falls through, then I have enough to cover materials & some of my time. I do quite a few commissions, and knock on wood, I haven’t had any fall through yet. But I always send photos of the painting before I put the sealer on, in case their are any changes. On some larger ones, I give progress photos so I can change something before I get too far into it. But I don’t do people - that would be way too much pressure for me!
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Oh dear that is a shame, that is why we need to ask for a deposit. Hope you sell it to someone else.
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Because I usually paint miniatures, I sometimes get requests for the same painting in a larger format. I usually agree to do a larger painting, but approach it as a new painting using the same reference. If I start obsessing about making it look exactly the same, the spontaneity goes out the window and I end up with a static looking painting.
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Hi, I sold a painting at a Fine Arts and Crafts show and received two commissions to paint a smaller version. The original is 11x16, the requests were for 8x10. I worked from a photo of the original on my iPad Pro and place two 8x10 canvases on my easel. I worked each step of the painting simultaneously on both canvases. It proved to be rather easy, though at times I found myself focusing on an area of the painting on one canvas and then remembered not to get too far ahead before I worked the same area on the other canvas. I found a rhythm. I let each buyer know that the results would not be a perfectly exact copy, as color and brushwork on the smaller version would vary. I also told the purchaser of the original I had received the request and they were fine with it. I delivered one a couple of weeks ago and the buyer was very pleased. I had to wait for a frame order to come in for the second and will deliver it sometime this week. I’ve already sent a photo to the second buyer and they thought it looked fantastic. Whew! Commissions can be hard, but I learned a lot from this exercise.
Hi robert, sounds like a good idea you came up with. Well done.