Today, after spending 5+ hours of my life painting a portrait of someone's cat for them, I finally finished it, perfect condition, no mistakes. I was supposed to be paid 300 bucks for it. Got 50 bucks because it was too "vibrant." FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, I finished a painting I'd spent 3 weeks working on for an exhibition. When I came back from lunch, my cat was perched above it on my desk. He looked at me, then down at the painting, then jumped down onto it. He slipped and smeared the wet paint everywhere, ruining the whole thing. FML
Today, I finally finished painting a house that took me 3 weeks to complete at 10 hours a day, including weekends, due to my dedication to perfection. When I went to meet with the homeowner for pay day, which was supposed to be $2000, he gave me $200, 5 tacos and then told me to "get the f*** off my lawn." FML
Today, I was putting the finishing touches on my portrait of a young boy in art class. I asked my teacher if she could help correct the bad parts of my portrait. She said, "Well that would take all day and I just don't have the time." She was serious. I thought this was my best work yet. FML
Today, I spent the whole night and day painting a portrait of my girlfriend. Being proud of it, I sent it to her hoping she would appreciate it. I spent hours working on that picture only for her to reply with, "That's not me, is it?" FML
Today, I finally finished a drawing that someone had asked and said they would pay me for. I worked on it for multiple hours and was very proud of it. When it came to discussing payment, I asked what his best offer was. A pack of cigarettes. FML
Today, I finally handed my girlfriend a portrait of her. I'm not the best drawer, but I spent weeks on it and I thought it turned out pretty good. When she looked at it, she asked what kind of dog was it. FML
Today, it took me five hours to paint my deck, only to have it ruined by the neighbor's cat running all over the wet paint. FML
Today, I finished painting my living room. I had to leave the house in a rush. When I got home, I found smears of paint all around and the carpet crusted with paint that had dried. My cat had rubbed up against the walls and tracked it around. FML
Today, a customer has been tanking my business online, claiming I’m a fraud and stole her money. She ordered a painted copy of one of her wedding photos and was mad she couldn’t pick it up that same afternoon. Do you have any idea how long portraits take to paint? Longer than two hours I can tell you. FML
Today, I finally finished my art project, which was worth 50% of my quarterly grade. I came in first period to give it to my professor. When she turned to look at it, her elbow hit her coffee and spilled it all over the canvas. I got 60%. She said I would have had a 100%, except for the giant coffee stain. FML
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Top comments
evilplatypus 39
Contracts. Use them. Live by them.
ahabsfan 17
Is 5 hours a long time for a portrait? You shouldn’t have sold it to them. Sell it by other means. It’s your work.
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Comments (18)
Ali Urias 5
you got conned
Leviathene 34
I've commissioned art a few times in the last year and I always pay up-front and I trust the artist to do the work I've paid for. You need to protect yourself as an artist, because people do steal art and make up bullshit in order to get out of paying for stuff. Next time you do a commission, please send the customer an invoice and progress shots to make sure they are happy with how the art is looking, this way you can make changes before its too late and the customer has no excuse not to pay the agreed amount.
mccuish 25
Grow a pair and stand up next time
Inkoseh 33
Contracts AND Half upfront once basic design sketch is planned with buyer. If the buyer picked a style, and your style is exactly the same, this is when the contract comes in and you get to do some small claims court! I'm sorry.
Sarah_360767614 8
You shouldn’t have given it to them for $50, you should’ve just sold it some other way
DanielleinDC 34
I hope you didn't give this guy the painting. Also, why didn't you get half up front?
jmilam90 9
And that is why you get paid up front.