Commissioning a Painting

Personally commissioned paintings are a favourite part of what I do – it is such a privilege to be invited inside someone’s life to capture the spirit of a particular moment. Distilling the eternal from the everyday, as Rachel Cusk puts it so beautifully. 

Each painting takes me a week to a fortnight to complete, since my work is very detailed. I start with a combination of client reference photos, client wishes and my own imagination. Then I do some compositional sketches and get to work with my gouache paint and ink, working on thick, archival-quality watercolour paper. Paintings vary in size, depending on composition, but they are around 8 - 11 inches. (I am happy to paint larger works – this is just my standard.)

I ask £500 for a standard-sized commissions, half paid just before I start, half after I have sent you a scan of the finished painting. I am based between London and Devon, but I have done many international commissions. I cover tracked postage worldwide to ensure finished work arrives safely.

I only take on a limited number of commissions each year, so it is good to book early if you have a particular birthday / Christmas / anniversary deadline in mind.

If you are interested in booking, or have a question about the commission process, please let me know via my Contact page or annaneima@gmail.com.

You can look at a few of my commissions from the past couple of years below.

Original commissioned painting. An autumn scene in a park with families and children walking, a mother reading to her son on a picnic blanket under a tree, ducks near a pond, an arched bridge in the background, and city buildings in the distance.
Anna Neima painting. A cozy kitchen scene with a woman reading a book at a table, a man tending to a child in the bathtub, and a dog resting on a mat. The kitchen has a red brick stove, shelves with jars, and a window with a view of trees.
Original commissioned painting by Anna Neima. A cozy kitchen scene with a man and a boy baking cookies, a woman holding a child in a red robe, and a table with breakfast foods and flowers.
An outdoor scene at dusk with a starry sky and city skyline of Delhi in the distance. Two people are sitting on the grass near bushes, holding hands. Original commissioned painting by Anna Neima.
Original commissioned painting by Anna Neima.. A cozy family gathering in a kitchen with people and children, some eating, some talking, and pets present.
Family having a bonfire in a fall forest, children roasting marshmallows, surrounded by trees, pumpkins, and animals. Original commissioned painting by Anna Neima.
A cozy living room with a woman sitting on a sofa reading a book with a child, a man playing with a toy train on a red patterned rug, a grand piano, many plants, bookshelves, and artwork. Original commissioned painting by Anna Neima.
An autumn scene outside a cozy white house with trees shedding yellow leaves. A woman sits on steps with a dog, a person is carrying firewood, and laundry hangs on a clothesline. Original commissioned painting by Anna Neima.
A family having a gathering on a balcony with a scenic view of the ocean, trees, and a distant church. They are seated around a black table with books, cups, and toys. The children are playing, and the adults are smiling and engaging with each other.
A cozy kitchen scene with a woman and three children. The woman is at the stove, cooking, while one child waits at the counter, another child is on her back, and the third is on a chair, helping with baking. Toys and kitchen items are scattered, and
A watercolor illustration of two women sitting outdoors in a garden surrounded by trees and flowers at sunset. The woman on the left holds a cat, and the woman on the right has a white dog. There are additional cats nearby, and a vase with flowers is

Commissioning a Mural

Whether a mural consists of a simple border, scenes painted on cupboard doors, a ceiling full of stars or the full-scale decoration of every wall, it adds personality, atmosphere, beauty and uniqueness to a room.

I put my PhD in history to work by beginning with research: looking for inspiration from historical houses, from paintings, from references from the natural world and from the lives and wishes of clients. Then I create a compositional sketch and a colour sketch, working with the client to perfect the design, before finally transforming the room with a piece of one-of-the-kind decorative art.

If you would like to discuss a mural project, please write to me on the contact page or at anna.neima@gmail.com. I am based between London and Devon, and happy to travel anywhere in the UK.

Ceiling and Fireplace in Oxfordshire Study

Ceiling and Fireplace in Oxfordshire Study
Child's Bedroom Inspired by Books

Child's Bedroom Inspired by Books
Botanical Bathroom in London

Botanical Bathroom in London
Cupboard Mural for a Devon Cottage

Cupboard Mural for a Devon Cottage