Still life commissions
Flowers, heirlooms, instruments, food, keepsakes, and everyday objects can carry a whole family history. Commission a MadeMay artist to arrange and paint them as an original work rather than a simple product illustration.
The people behind the work
Still life artists shape light, spacing, color, and symbolism. Review their real work to find an artist whose treatment of objects feels intimate, lively, spare, or richly observed.
Nashville oil painter — landscapes, still life, and figurative work painted from life
Jess Peoples works from Nashville, Tennessee. Their materials include oil. Their portfolio includes "Peonies in Bloom" and "Lovely". Talk with Jess about an original still life or object portrait based on your photographs, objects, story, and preferred arrangement. Their MadeMay commissions currently start at $400; the final price depends on the specific size, material, and scope.
View Jess's profile
Oil portrait painter — semi-painterly realism; figurative & people commissions
Zachary Bowman works from South Ogden, Utah. Their materials include Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, and pencil. Their portfolio includes "For a Jordan fan". Talk with Zachary about an original still life or object portrait based on your photographs, objects, story, and preferred arrangement. Their MadeMay commissions currently start at $400; the final price depends on the specific size, material, and scope.
View Zachary's profileReal portfolio work
These works were uploaded by the artists who made them. Open a piece for a closer look or visit the artist's profile to see the rest of their practice.
The commission process
The artist can work from objects in the studio, photographs you provide, or a composition planned together. What matters is deciding which details carry the meaning and how the objects should relate on the canvas.
Gather the heirlooms, flowers, instruments, foods, books, tools, or keepsakes that belong in the painting and explain why each matters.
Photograph each object and, when possible, the group from several angles in natural light. Discuss whether physical items can be delivered to the artist.
Agree on background, surface, lighting, scale, color, and whether the composition should feel formal, quiet, abundant, or spontaneous.
Follow the artist's progress, approve the finished original, and coordinate framing, packing, and delivery.
Planning your commission
A successful still life does not need many things. A worn tool, a recipe book, a wedding bouquet, or a musical instrument can be enough when the artist understands its history and observes it closely.
If the physical objects cannot travel, detailed photographs and measurements help. Include surface texture, inscriptions, damage, and other small characteristics that make an heirloom recognizable.
Every MadeMay artist is selected before joining the marketplace.
No AI-generated art and no factory or mass production.
Scope, messages, payment, and delivery stay connected on MadeMay.
Questions clients ask
Yes. Clear views, measurements, close-ups, and the story behind the object help the artist represent it accurately and meaningfully.
Yes. The artist can plan a unified arrangement from separate references, provided scale, lighting, and perspective can be reconciled.
Yes. Wedding bouquets, memorial flowers, garden blooms, and other arrangements can be painted from photographs or recreated with similar flowers when available.
The final price depends on artist, medium, dimensions, number of objects, detail, setup, and timeline. MadeMay shows the artist's starting price before you request a specific quote.
Begin with a conversation
Share the idea, references, dimensions, budget, and timing. You can compare artists and ask questions before deciding how to proceed.
