E-Mail:

jason@jasonarkles.com

Phone:

North America (+1) 910-603-3579

Europe (+39) 348-332-6610

North Carolina is in the Eastern Daylight Time Zone

Commissions and purchases

Whether you want to purchase a piece you've seen on my web site, or are interested in commissioning an original work, the best way to start is to simply call or e-mail me so we can discuss exactly what it is you'd like.

Purchasing an existing work

Most of the works you see on my site are available. Some, like the marble pieces, are one-of-a-kind, while others in bronze and plaster are limited editions. contact me and I'll be happy to answer your questions and get you what you need. Works are available in a variety of finishes and media.

Marble, and how it is priced

Since marble statuary are produced as a copy of a clay or plaster work, almost everything on my site can be carved to order. Prices vary depending on size, complexity of form, and surface detail. For a frame of reference, a lifesize bust in marble may run about $8,000-$15,000, but a bust the same size could easily run more, if for instance the clothing had a great amount of detail, such as a lace collar. A 1/3 lifesize figure in marble may run from $6,000-$20,000, depending on the total height+width+depth of the work(which determines the size of the uncarved block of marble), the delicacy of detail (i.e., splayed fingers as opposed to a fist), and other factors which lengthen or shorten projected working time. The labor determines the cost of the marble work more than anything else.

Enlargements and reductions are also available! As large or as small as you like, in any medium.

Commissioning an original work

Prices vary widely according to the size and amount of detail in the piece and the medium (marble, bronze, or other). If the work commissioned is a portrait, the buyer is responsible for all travel costs, whether the sitter comes to my studio in North Carolina or Italy, or weather I need to travel to the sitter's area to model the bust in clay.

I do not work from photographs. If you like my work and prefer it to the work of other portraitists, it is because I refuse to work except under the best conditions. Working from photographs will give the sculptor limited views of his subject, and presents merely a frozen, static version of reality rather than life itself.

Once we've agreed upon the basic ideas of the commission, I submit a cost estimate to the buyer; if the estimate is accepted, a contract is drawn up and a small percentage (usually 10-30%) of the estimate is paid. This pays for preliminary sketches if needed, materials, model's fees if any, and all other expenses necessary to bring the commission up to the stage of the original plaster.

A mold is then taken from the clay work, but only after the buyer approves the work; before the clay model is molded, all reasonable requests for changes and modifications will be happily considered and all efforts will be made to give the buyer a satisfactory result.

Once the work is approved, but usually before the mold is made, an additional amount of the total commission fee is paid, covering material and labor costs of the final work. The remainder is due upon completion of the work. Some projects may have different payment schedules, especially projects requiring work over more than three months.