Q & A - PLEASE READ

1) How do you choose which picture to paint as a portrait?
This is a very good question, but certainly not the easiest or most straight forward one to answer. Please take a look at the gallery and you will get a general idea of what I look for. As a rule, though, no cats, no dogs, no kids. Just the individual and maybe a prop - like a banana, or hat, or cigarette. Also, as this group grows larger and larger, I will probably only be going in depth to those profile pictures currently up that catch my eye and make me want to take a closer look.

2) Are these paintings for sale?
Of course! Baby needs diapers and we all need to eat, right? If you are seriously interested, contact me via email at mattheldstudios@gmail.com and we can discuss details. I would just ask that you be open to loaning the piece for exhibition when the time comes.

3) If you paint my painting, can I use the image for the back of my self-published book?

This is the general Copyright disclaimer for all the pieces of the collection:
Copyright 2009 Matt Held and Held Studios. All rights reserved. Image recipients have been granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the copyrighted image for personal use only. Any other use of the image or derivations thereof, including any commercial use, without explicit written consent from the copyright owner is strictly prohibited.

Can you use it as your profile image for facebook, twitter, tumblr, flickr, myspace? Absolutely! If you want to use if for something else, we can talk, thanks!

4) I just joined your group, when will my portrait be done?
I can't make any guarantees as to when/if I will get your painting done. At this point, we have an intern to help with admin stuff. And, if I get to the point where I can hire an assistant, it will go faster. The more time I can spend in the studio, the better chances of me getting to yours. We’ve yet to make any money on the portraits and the only income coming in to this house is enough to pay the rent and put food in the cupboards for a family of four. That said, if you are just dying to have a family photo painted, I am happy to talk with you about arranging a commission outside the scope of this project.

5) You haven't added me as a friend yet. Why not?
My wife and I usually try to spend about an hour or so in the evening, getting caught up on admin stuff that I haven't been able to get to during the day, so my apologies if I haven't added you. She works full-time and I also have two kids to chase after when I am not in the studio. If I haven't gotten to you yet, please save me the time and add me after you join the group. That way I can just confirm you and that part is taken care of.

You can read about project announcements, thoughts, and general direction of the project on this blog.