A good brief saves a round of revisions. These are the details a painting studio needs to quote accurately and paint a piece that fits the room.
1. A reference, and what to keep from it
Send the image, sketch or mood board, and say which parts matter: the composition, the palette, the texture, or just the overall feeling. If the reference is another artist's work, expect the studio to propose an original piece in the same spirit rather than a copy.
2. The size, or the wall
Give the painting size in inches or centimetres, width first. If you are not sure, send the wall width and height, the furniture below it, and the ceiling height. A common rule is for the art to span about two thirds of the furniture below it, but the studio's room preview will show you the options.
3. Colors as codes
Screens shift color. Paint codes do not. Give Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore codes for the wall and the key accents, or post fabric and finish swatches. The studio mixes to those codes and photographs the mix next to the painting in daylight.
4. Texture level
- Low: visible brushwork, close to flat. Ships rolled.
- Medium: knife strokes and scraped layers you can feel. Ships rolled or stretched.
- High: raised plaster, paste or petals that throw shadows. Ships stretched only.
Texture level changes the look under the room's lighting and also the shipping format, so decide it early.
5. How it should arrive
Rolled for your framer, stretched and ready to hang, or framed. See our shipping guide for what each costs to send.
6. Quantity and series
One piece, a pair, or a series across rooms. For a series, say whether pieces should match exactly, share a palette, or just feel related.
7. Install date and delivery ZIP code
The ZIP code is enough for a freight quote. Allow time for the preview, painting, progress photos, and express transit.
A brief you can copy
Reference: [image attached], keep the palette and texture, new composition
Size: 48 × 36 in, landscape
Colors: wall SW 7008 Alabaster; accents SW 6258 Tricorn Black, warm brass
Texture: medium
Format: stretched, ready to hang
Quantity: 1 (pair possible)
Install: [date], ZIP [code]