Contact Information:
I live in Front Royal, in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, with my Husband, 3 dogs, 3 1/2 cats, 2 horses, several pet rabbits and chickens, and a variety of pet birds and fish. You can contact me by calling 540-635-6824, or email me at Michele@sommersend.com
And feel free to sign my guestbook while you're here. I'd love to know what you think of my website and my work!
Pricing Information:
Pricing varies depending on the project, and I would be happy to discuss your budget and specific needs. Feel free to contact me with any questions, no obligation. I am usually able to work with practically any size budget, modifying the project to fit by adjusting the level of detail, size, or by using existing materials. If you tell me the range you want to be in, I will do my very best to stay within it.
To give you some general information, I have broken down some of my pricing guidelines.
Murals
Prices for my murals vary depending on size and amount of detail. Starting price, for a small mural with low detail of roughly 4' x 4', is $350 plus any travel related expenses. An example would be the faux window with grapevine, wine bottle and wineglass, or the Great Wall of China, found on the "murals" page.
Feel free to view the national guideline for pricing murals. You will be pleased to find that my prices tend to fall well below the standard recommended guidelines.
Most of the murals I do are what I consider "medium" detail. If seeing every hair on animals, or every leaf on trees is your vision, or less detail would suit you to make a mural more affordable, I will be happy to make those adjustments and quote a price.
Some smaller projects, borders or accents, and small portable murals can be done for $300 or less, depending on the project and your location.
http://www.themurals.com/pricing/pricing.htm
Portraiture
My pricing for pet portraits currently start at $70 for an 8x10 graphite or charcoal pencil study of one pet, $160 for an 8x10 colored pencil, $195 for an 11x14 acrylic painting.
Human portraits are a bit more, starting at $280 for a single person on 11x14, acrylic. Building portraits are based on the project, but start at $220 for 11x14.
All portrait prices are for head and shoulders on colorwashed background, but these can be modified to suit your tastes for an additional fee.
I will give you a more precise quote once I have all the details for your specific project. When working out the cost for you, I will take into account the number of subjects, background and size, as well as the photos I have to work with. A variety of sizes are available, and details can be added to the background for additional charges. If you have a specific budget to work with, please let me know and I can offer advice on choice of size and background.
Calligraphy
Envelopes provided by you for wedding invitations, Christmas cards, birthday cards or other special events can be addressed starting at $2.75 each for a set of inner and outer envelopes.
Outer only, $2.25 each.
This is for a basic italic hand, left-justified or staggered copy, fine tip. Additional charges apply for larger or varying sized tips, flourishing, drop shadowing, other fonts, centered copy, opaque envelopes, custom colored inks, assembly of invitations (to prepare for mailing), shipping or pickup and delivery (where feasible) or if I supply the stationery.
You can find information about how to address your formal wedding invitations, and the format I prefer for your list, on the "Calligraphy" page, or the source I use, the book, Crane's Wedding Blue Book.
Calligraphic poetry or other layouts:
Priced based on the size and type of project. I have a $35 minimum small project setup fee. For the average project, there is a setup fee of $50 and up, depending on the complexity of the design. Then the calligraphy is based on the time it takes to complete, but generally averages about $1 an average sized small sentence of 4-6 words, or $4 an average "verse" of 4 short lines (see the sample on my "calligraphy" page), plus setup. For example, a basic poem with 10 verses of 4 lines each would be about $90 plus any materials that I don't already have in stock (specialty papers or inks).
Certificate Fill-ins:
$15 for the first, $8 each additional, plus shipping or pickup and delivery where feasible.
Personalized Ornaments
Up to 2 custom subjects and lettering start at $80. Just lettering, $10-15 depending on how many words. They can be done on glass Christmas bulbs, wooden balls or flat wood circles. I am willing to experiment on other surfaces or objects at your request.