Painter Ilya
Brooklyn · Est. 2011
Commissions & Process
Award-winning portrait & mural artistry, crafted one brushstroke at a time — by appointment, from a working studio in Williamsburg.
Request a CommissionA Letter from the Studio
A commission, in our studio, is not a transaction. It is a slow, deliberate act of collaboration that begins the moment you write — sometimes months before the first brushstroke touches linen.
We do not print, license, or reproduce. Each canvas is sized, stretched, primed, and toned by hand in this room. Pigments are ground in oil. Varnishes are mixed to match the light of the room the painting will eventually hang in. There is no warehouse, no production line, no algorithm matching you to a stock image.
The waiting list averages six months because the work demands time — and because collectors tell us the wait is part of what makes the finished painting feel like an heirloom rather than a purchase. If you are reading this, we would be glad to begin that conversation.
— Ilya Marchenko, Founder
The Commission Process
Each stage has a clear deliverable, a written confirmation, and a point of contact. There are no surprise invoices and no silent weeks.
You write a short note describing the subject, the room it will live in, and any references. We reply within two business days with a scheduling link for the discovery call and a short questionnaire to help us prepare.
A thirty-minute, no-obligation conversation — by phone or video — to discuss scope, size, palette, timeline, and any site visit requirements. The call is free for every prospective client, including international collectors.
A written proposal arrives within five business days of the call, including composition sketches, dimensions, the agreed timeline, the starting investment, and shipping or installation notes for your city. Work begins on receipt of a 40% deposit.
The painting is built from raw linen and pigment. You receive a midpoint progress review with high-resolution photographs and a short studio note. A final review is sent before varnishing. Two rounds of revision are included; additional rounds are quoted separately.
The completed painting is crated in museum-grade materials and shipped white-glove, with professional installation coordinated for homes, hotels, and corporate lobbies. International commissions have shipped to collectors across fourteen countries on four continents.
Average commission timeline: 8 to 14 weeks from deposit to delivery, dependent on size and complexity.
Commission Categories
Each category has its own intake brief, starting investment band, and lead time. Choose the brief that matches your project and we will route it to the right specialist in the studio.
01
Classical and contemporary oil portraits commissioned for private collectors, family archives, and corporate founders. Painted from sittings, photographs, or a combination of both. Sizes from 16 × 20 inches to over-life.
02
Site-built murals for residential interiors, boutique hospitality, and flagship retail. Scoped in person or via measured drawings; installed by a two-person team in paint or fresco-secco depending on substrate.
03
Painter Ilya on-site, painting a finished canvas live across a single evening or a multi-day activation. Past commissions include live work for Hermès, Bvlgari, and Soho House — 60+ brand events to date.
By the Numbers
340+
Completed commissions for private and corporate clients since 2011.
14
Countries reached with shipped or installed original work.
6 mo
Average wait for a new portrait commission — a signal of consistent demand.
4.96/5
Average client satisfaction across 180+ verified post-commission reviews.
Editor's Notes
If your question is not here, write to the studio — we reply within two business days.
Most commissions measure between eight and fourteen weeks from deposit to delivery. Portraits at smaller sizes sit closer to the eight-week end; large murals and complex multi-figure compositions sit closer to twenty. The proposal always states a window in writing, and we update it honestly if a stage runs long — not as a surprise at delivery.
Every commission is scoped individually after the discovery call — we never publish a price list because the variables (size, surface, palette, revisions, shipping) change every brief. A starting investment band is included in the written proposal. The deposit is 40% of the agreed total, refundable in full up to the moment primer touches linen; after that, the deposit covers materials already purchased and time committed to the canvas.
Yes — paintings have shipped to collectors across fourteen countries on four continents. We crate in museum-grade materials, ship white-glove with climate-controlled carriers, and coordinate installation with a local fine-art handler in your city. For murals, a two-person team travels on site; international travel is quoted into the proposal as a line item.
Two rounds of revision are included in every commission — one at the midpoint progress review and one at the final review, before varnishing. Revision requests are written and brief, and we respond with updated photographs within five business days. Additional rounds beyond the included two are quoted against time and materials, and agreed in writing before any work begins.
A six-by-six foot footprint, a stable easel, two 5000K work lights, and access to power. We bring the rest — linen, pigments, brushes, a finishing kit, and a signed certificate of authenticity for the host. Past hosts have included Hermès, Bvlgari, and Soho House; references are available on request for qualified brand and hospitality buyers.
Still weighing the decision? A thirty-minute discovery call is offered free to every prospective client.
Begin a Commission