How Long Should You Wait Before Checking In on a Commission?
Last updated: September 29, 2026
In short: In a well-run commission you should not have to guess — the check-in points are set before any paint goes down. In my studio, deposit to delivery runs about four weeks, depending on the studio schedule, and you hear from me at the first reveal and at each of two revision rounds. Between those points, quiet usually means paint is curing. If a date passes without word, ask. A good question never makes you a difficult client.
Why does the middle of a commission feel so long?
Because from the outside nothing appears to happen. You had a conversation, you paid a deposit, you chose a direction — and then the studio goes quiet.
Inside the studio, the quiet is busy. Oil paint cures by taking in oxygen from the air, so each layer needs time before the next one can answer it. Much of the middle of a commission is the painter waiting on the paint and deciding what the next layer should do. Nothing is late; the work is simply at the stage no photograph flatters.
The art advisor Claudia Kennaugh, founder of Art & People, puts the fix squarely on the artist: offer "periodic check-ins" and "schedule these in at the beginning. This will avoid you being hassled and puts some healthy accountability in place." The client should not have to invent the rhythm. The studio should hand it over on day one.
When should you actually hear from the artist?
At the points both of you agreed on at the start. In this studio those points are fixed:
- A conversation about the room, the light and what the painting needs to do.
- A deposit secures the slot on the calendar.
- Two options, painted at the same time. I paint two canvases side by side for every commission, so you choose between two finished answers rather than approving a sketch.
- The first reveal. This is your first scheduled check-in, and you will know its date before I start.
- A first revision round.
- A second and final revision round.
- Delivery — shipped rolled to your local framer, stretched perfectly, delivered ready to hang.
- Float framing on request.
Plato wrote in the Republic that "the beginning is the most important part of any work." For a commission, the beginning is where the check-in dates belong.
Is it rude to ask for an update?
No — and working artists say so themselves. "Continued support, feedback, and check-ins are so rare for artists," the artist Brendan Fernandes told Artsy; "taking the care and showing interest by revisiting is a real boost." The abstract painter Bret Slater was blunter about visitors to his studio: "If I've invited you to my studio, I'm honored by your presence."
What makes a check-in feel good on both sides is its content. Samuel Jablon, in the same Artsy piece, asked visitors to "be able to ask thoughtful questions about the work, to have a conversation that's productive." A question about the painting — how the color is settling, what the second canvas is doing differently — is always welcome. And the best of those exchanges, in the artist Irena Jurek's words, "are a lot like unforgettable conversations."
If a promised date passes, a short note is reasonable. If no date was ever given, ask for one.
How long is too long?
Timelines vary with size and the studio's schedule, which is why the only reliable answer is the one written down at the start. As a rule of thumb: if the reveal date you were given has passed by more than a few days with no word, ask. If you were never given a reveal date, ask immediately — that is the missing piece, not your patience.
The history of painting has a famous counter-example. As Vasari tells it, when Pope Julius II pressed Michelangelo on when the Sistine ceiling would be finished, the answer he got was, roughly, "When I can." Four years of scaffolding later, the ceiling was magnificent. It is not a model for a living room.
Tolstoy wrote in War and Peace that "the strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience." Patience is easier with a date attached. Franz Kafka, in his Zürau notebooks, named impatience as one of the two main human sins from which all the others derive. Both men had a point; a clear schedule lets you honor both.
What should you expect in the quiet weeks?
To wait well, and to hear something at every point you were promised. The book of Ecclesiastes puts it plainly: "To every thing there is a season." A commission has several — the conversation, the painting of two canvases, the reveal, the revisions — and you should know in advance roughly when each one begins.
→ Start with a conversation: Commissions · Designers and consultants: Trade Program · Prefer to choose from finished work: Paintings available now · About Angela
Frequently asked questions
How long does a commissioned painting take?
In this studio, about four weeks from deposit to delivery, depending on the studio schedule. Larger or multi-panel work can take longer; the timeline is set in writing at the start.
How often should I expect updates on an art commission?
At the check-in points agreed at the start. Here those are the first reveal and two revision rounds, each with a date you know in advance.
Is it rude to ask an artist for a commission update?
No. If a promised date has passed, or no date was ever given, a short, specific question is reasonable and welcome.
Why can't I see progress photos every week?
Oil paintings spend much of their middle stage curing and unresolved, and early layers rarely look like the finished work. Scheduled reveals show you real decisions rather than a stage that would only worry you.
Trade program and designer pricing · Start a conversation about a commission