A portfolio proves taste. It does not prove process.
When you are looking for an artist who can create art to a brief, it is tempting to judge purely on the strength of the portfolio -- does the work look good? But a portfolio of finished pieces, made entirely on the artist's own terms and timeline, tells you almost nothing about whether that artist can take your dimensions, your palette, your mood and your deadline and deliver against them reliably.
What "only sells existing work" actually looks like
An artist who only sells existing work paints what they want to paint, when they want to paint it, and lists it for sale once it exists. There is nothing wrong with that as a practice -- but it is a fundamentally different skill set to briefed commission work. Ask that artist to match a specific palette from your space, on your deadline, at your required scale, and you are asking them to do something their practice was never built around.
What a genuine brief-led practice looks like instead
An artist built around commissions starts every piece as someone else's brief. They have a process for turning your dimensions, photos and mood into a palette and style proposal before painting starts. They can quote you a realistic volume and timeframe because they have done it before, repeatedly, for other clients with real deadlines -- not as an occasional exception to their usual practice.
How to tell the two apart before you commit
Ask directly: "can you show me work you made specifically to a client's brief?" Not gallery work, not personal projects -- commissioned pieces, ideally with some detail on what the brief was and how the finished piece matched it. An artist with a genuine commission practice will have plenty of these. An artist who only sells existing work usually will not.
About Leah Justyce
Every piece I paint for a client starts as their brief, not my own idea. Twenty-six years of professional practice built specifically around working to brief for private clients, interior designers, hotels and property developers -- featured in British Vogue, The World of Interiors and House and Garden UK.
Read the full guide on looking for an artist who can create art to a brief, or send your brief through the commission enquiry form -- I respond within 48 hours.