Custom & Commissioned Work
A commissioned piece is made once, for one wall, for one person. It is the closest thing to collaborating with an artist rather than buying from one.
At Oasis, commissions are made in the studio by our senior artists and facilitators. The same people who teach here make the work here. You will know who painted your piece, and you will see it take shape.
We work on two kinds of commission.
Type I: a variation of existing work
If you have seen a piece from the studio and want it in a different size, palette, or format, this is the simpler route.
How it works
Write to us on WhatsApp or email with the piece you have in mind and where it is going. Send a photograph of the wall if you have one. We will come back within 48 to 72 hours with a price and a timeline.
Once the estimate is agreed, we take an advance payment before work begins. Customised work cannot be resold, so this payment is not refundable.
If you want a different palette, we prepare four to five colour options after the initial sketch is done and you choose from those.
You will receive photographs at two or three points during the making, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
Typical timeline: three to four weeks. If your piece will take longer, we tell you before we start, not partway through.
Type II: an original commission
If you want something that does not exist yet, the process is longer and more involved.
How it works
We begin with a conversation about the subject, the room, the light it will live in, and what you want it to do in that space. From there we give you an initial estimate.
Our artist then develops a first sketch. Once you have approved the sketch, we work through the palette together and begin the painting.
Payment is split. Fifty per cent to begin, fifty per cent on completion once you have approved the finished piece.
As with Type I, an original commission is made only for you and cannot be resold, so payments are not refundable if you change your mind during the process.
Typical timeline: five to six weeks, sometimes longer for larger or more complex pieces.
What we do not do
We do not copy another artist's work. Every artist in this studio has their own hand, and asking them to reproduce somebody else's is neither fair to that artist nor to the one who made the original. If you bring us a reference you love, we are glad to talk about what draws you to it and to make something in that spirit that is genuinely yours.
A note on handmade work
Painting is slow and it is not entirely predictable. Occasionally a piece takes longer than we estimated because it needs to. We would rather tell you that than hand over work that was rushed to meet a date. We will keep you informed throughout, and we appreciate your patience with a process that cannot be hurried.