Doubts

[442RCT]

A couple months ago I contacted a jacket painter based on the examples of his work on his website, to paint a copy of one of Jerome's jackets. His jacket artwork looked really good. I emailed him with the photos from Jerome's website and asked if he could copy it. He assured me he could copy the artwork and incorporate the changes I requested.

I had a dark seal colored ELC jacket that I thought would make a great canvas for the paint and sent it to him.

Recently he e-mailed me and a few of his other customers, (, I don't know if he hit Send All by mistake), pics of a jacket he was completing.

I'm guessing the A-2 in the pics was not one of the top tier A-2's, it had a three piece back. I'm not sure if the customer sent the artwork he wanted and the artist just copied it exactly. The bottom line is the artwork in the pics was pretty basic...not even close to a Jerome paint job.

I'm a little worried now because of the price of the ELC. If it was one of my usual 'painters' (under $ 125 ), I wouldn't care as much.

I'm thinking I should cut my losses and send him return shipping and just have him mail my ELC back since he doesn't seem to have begun the paintjob yet.

 

[watchmanjimg]

If you have any concerns I'd suggest pulling the plug now. The last thing you want is a botched job on an expensive jacket.

 

[dmar836]

I agree. Get it back. There is no shortage of people who overestimate their abilities. Once it's back in your hands, be honest and let him know about the painting you saw and how it scared you a bit.
You will never regret paying for the best but you'll never forgive yourself if his work falls short.
JMO,
Dave

 

[a2jacketpatches]

Just be sure that the photos were intended for you. Back when I used to paint murals, my customers were always able to see my work in progress. Nothing ever looked right in a painting until the last few steps. Actually looking kind of basic. It's the artists ability to place highlights just right in the very end that makes or breaks a painting. I would actually go steps ahead of myself and have to fix them later just so there was some eye candy for others. I don't run into that much anymore doing these small projects in my home. So if he had examples to show that were good quality and assures you the same effort will go into yours, maybe you're OK. I would always pull out my book of examples and say, "at one point, this job looked just as questionable" It's possible the work you saw in progress was a job of lesser value as well. At any rate, talk with him about it before pulling the plug, it's very possible he'll explain what I just did, if you get a bad feeling or sense any BS, then pull the plug. Just don't wanna see you fire an artist over a misunderstanding.

 

[442RCT]

Just be sure that the photos were intended for you.
At any rate, talk with him about it before pulling the plug, it's very possible he'll explain what I just did, if you get a bad feeling or sense any BS, then pull the plug. Just don't wanna see you fire an artist over a misunderstanding.

Thanks for the advice, I'll e-mail him and see what he has to say. The photos of the jacket he e-mailed me and the others looked like the jacket was near completion, and in my opinion, wasn't as well done as I would have liked for someone with the years of experience he listed. To his benefit, from the dealings I've had with him so far, he's a really nice guy, just overwhelmed by all the pre-Christmas orders he received. (I think my jacket is # 4 or 5 in line)

 

[dmar836]

I'd agree due to my recent experience. I did my first patch. It turned out to my liking but until the final outlining and touchup was done it looked dodgy.

Let us know what he says.
Dave