Commissions

Deb wants to commission me to do a landscape from a picture I took in Tuscany. We both love Italy, especially Tuscany. We have been talking about it for awhile now and I finally ordered the canvas (24x48) that she wants.
Most of my artist friends have commissions in one form or another that provide the bread and butter financing for their art. Some love doing them and some (like me) have mixed feelings about them.
My biggest concern is whether or not my patron will like the finished piece. This can be a sticky wicket for both parties. What do you do if they don't like what you have produced? What happens to the relationship if this happens? What happens to the artwork? Many questions...
Basically, this is how I handle comissions and so far, has worked for me.
1. I make it very clear, that I own the image, the picture, the painting, etc. regardless of whether the patron purchases the work. In particular, with portraits of people, I may do what I like with the image.
2. Based on the above, they are not obligated to buy the piece, once I have agreed to the work. The reason that I do this is because I will paint what I want, how I want, and once again, the image belongs to me.
3. By making sure that the artwork is something that I can sell, hang or use, it really doesn't matter whether the patron purchases the work. In my mind, it is really just another painting. So, I make sure that the painting is something that I am happy with. Sure, I want the potential buyer to like it as well, but sometimes this doesn't happen. If it doesn't work out, I'm ok with the outcome and still have a viable piece of work for my trouble.
4. I accommodate only to a point. I am willing to please the patron in terms of painting size, color palette, and subject matter. Beyond that, it's my call. I like having some parameters, as this keeps you from being all over the place, which is what I would do anyway. But I control these decisions and negotiate them up front.

So....I will start on Deborah's painting today and let you see how it evolves.