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Scottish Art:

Original Paintings
by Subject
(See Products list below
for print versions of
these subjects.)

Commissioned
Paintings

Other Art Products

Scottish Art - Commissioned Paintings
of Scotland and England

by D. Bruce Bennett

Have an idea for your very own picture of Scotland? The Scottish Art below is a small sampling of paintings commissioned by our clients. They knew exactly what they wanted, told us, and you see the results.

Never commissioned a painting? Not to worry. Nothing hoitsy-toitsy about it. Commissioning a painting of Scotland or England is simpler than you'd think and more reasonable than you'd guess (similar to the prices you see for paintings still available on our website).

Here's the drill. Decide what you want. Tell us. Bruce paints it. We ship it.

Well, yes, there is a little more to it than that. After the clients' commissions below you'll find some some "stuff" to think about before you e-mail us. Remember it's your painting and you get to make the decisions.

(Click each Scottish Art image below for larger, fuller view.)

Loch Lomond
30"w x 18"h
acrylic on stretched canvas
(our photo with
client's adaptations)

Portree Harbour
20"w x 16"h
acrylic on watercolor stock
(Bruce's rendition
of client's photo)

Sarasota Sunset Piper
Jacobites Pipe & Drum
2006 concert advertising
(Jacobites' customization
of Callin' the Brothers)

Henderson Sword Dancer
Kansas City Highland
2006 Games advertising
(Happy Feet redone
in Henderson tartan)

Castle Forbes
18"w x 14"h
acrylic on watercolor stock
(Bruce's rendition
of client photo)

Maclain (Mingary) Castle
16"w x 20"h
acrylic on watercolor stock
(Bruce's rendition
of client photo)

Castle Tioram Tryptch
20"w x 15"h
acrylic on hardboard
(Bruce's rendition
of client photo)

Castle in Early Dawn
26"w x 22"h
acrylic on hardboard
(Bruce's rendition of
client ideas)

Callin' the Brothers, VIII
22"w x 30"h
acrylic on watercolor stock
(Client request for "more
blue" in Callin'...)

Moodier Stonehenge
20"w x 16"h
acrylic on hardboard
(client request: more gray
in Moody Stonehenge)

The Uprising!
40"w x 30"h
acrylic on stretched canvas
(Jacobites Pipe & Drum 2007 concert advertising)

McNabb Piper
Kansas City Highland
2007 Games advertising
(Loch Lomond Piper
in McNabb tartan)

Scottish Westies
at Cawdor Castle

Royal Highland Fair
Highland Calf

Kansas City Highland
Games Caber Tosser

Hotel Ardanaiseig
Loch and Ben View

Hotel Ardanaiseig
Wedding Reception

McIver Piper

Two Yorkshire Terriors
at Front Door

Subject?
A piece of Scottish Art similar to something on our website? Which one? Any modifications?

Something from our own Ye Olde Bennett Photo Library? Tell us which one of the more than 200 locations/properties we've shot, and we'll send JPGs for you to peruse.

A composition from your holiday photo – or Mom and Dad's? (Castle Forbes above was a Christmas "promise" from a daughter to her parents, using their own photo from a recent trip to Scotland. So was Portree Harbour.) Send JPG attachments with your initial e-mail message, if you can.

Kind of weather? Many clients opt for misty and cloudy, regardless of the weather in their photo, since that's what seems to personify Scotland. Others, having had quite enough gray mist while on their Scottish holiday, opt for a piece of Scottish Art that's a bit more sunny, since they'll be looking at it the rest of their lives. Totally up to you.

Any people in the painting? (Paintings with no people in them usually cost less than ones with people.)

Any tartans with colors we need to match perfectly? Be prepared to send us a small swatch, which we'll return with the finished painting. We've learned the hard way that RGB monitors and JPGs just don't cut it when we're trying to get the real-life colors of our clients' tartans. (Any upholstery fabric you want your painting to blend with? Send a fabric swatch for the same reason.)

Art style?
Impressionistic, photo-realistic, or. . .? If a style of painting on our web site resonates with you, tell us which one, even if the subject matter has nothing to do with your chosen subject. Just knowing what style of our Scottish Art you like – that Bruce has already painted – helps him considerably.

Size?
Will this be a painting you'll want to fit a particular area? Do you want it to fit a standard, pre-cut frame? Watercolor-style paintings are always matted, glassed, and framed, which can add considerably to the image size. Oil-style paintings are usually framed and not matted or glassed: the end product doesn't take up too much more space than the painting size.

Preferred media?
Watercolor style on watercolor paper? Oil style on hardboard? Oil style on stretched canvas?

Bruce always uses acrylic paints which, contrary to what you may have heard, have proved every bit as durable as oil paints. They can be worked quickly (fast turn-around time for you) and made to appear as light and airy as watercolors or as heavy and thick as oil paintings.

Framed or unframed?
We encourage clients to handle their own matting and framing to ensure this vital part of a piece of artwork matches their décor. When we handle it, we're purely guessing. It also saves them shipping and handling fees since unmatted and unframed artwork is much easier and lighter to ship. However, if you really want a ready-to-hang picture of Scotland, we'll be happy to choose a frame and mat for you.

Once you've given these items some thought, begin an e-mail and/or phone discussion with us about your ideas. Once we're clear about what you want, we'll e-mail our price. If you agree the price is fair, you'll send a retainer for 50% of the total for the painting price and S&H fee, plus any tartan samples and photos, as needed.

Bruce will produce a preliminary sketch, which we'll send as a JPG for you to view and make comments on. Bruce will make revisions to the sketch, as you direct. After you both reach a consensus, Bruce will begin the painting process. Again, we send JPGs of the painting and communicate by phone and e-mail about the details.

Bruce guarantees your satisfaction, so this process may take a while. We want it to be what you want. When you’re satisfied with the JPG proof, you'll send the remaining 50%. We'll package and ship your painting.

You'll send us your rave reviews, so we can publish them on our Customer Feedback page (anonymously, of course!). If your review isn't a rave one, you'll tell us what needs to be changed, return the painting in the same packaging, and Bruce paints his little heart out – till you’re 100 percent satisfied. (We've had this happen once since we began in 1993 – and it was a tartan-color-thing. See above!)

Commissioning Paintings as Gifts

Well over half of the Scottish Art our clients have commissioned have been gifts for spouses, parents, adult children or siblings, partners, etc.:
• a favorite spot on a recent trip to Scotland or England
• an old abandoned crofter's cottage
• the clan castle
• their ancestors' harbor village
• proud Dad in clan tartan
• a daughter in her highland dance competition dress
• a distant ancestor in his Scottish regalia

Family members sometimes decide to pool their monies on a gift - usually on the sly - for the patriarch or matriarch of the clan. When this happens, we follow the above process for commissioning art; the recipient just isn’t in on it!

Running out of time? Print out one of our pages containing a picture of Scotland (or England) that's close to what you plan to commission and cut out the image of the painting or print from the page. (If you're planning to have Bruce paint from one of your photos, use the photo instead.) Include the printout or photo in a card appropriate for the occasion with a note saying their gift will be "similar to this Scottish Art – unless, of course, you have something else in mind."

We can proceed with the details after they've received your card and given you feedback.

Tag. You're it.

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