'Your friend is nuts': Woman takes 6 years to complete painting commission, tries to charge $500 more than she originally quoted

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Aug 11, 2024 4:00 PM EDT

Mixing business and friendship is not always a good idea. Because once you get money involved, it's difficult to keep boundaries straight. Even splitting the bill among good friends usually sparks more than a little dose of anxiety. When I was working in retail, I didn't even really like when my friends came to visit me at work. Sure, it was fun to see them, but there's always an awkward moment when they want to buy something. How much discount do I give them? What's enough? What are they expecting? What if my boss gets mad at me? It's just a little tricky to involve friends in your business. 

That's exactly what happened to one woman whose commission from a friend sparked an argument about how much she should be compensated. But it turned out that almost everyone agreed that what she was asking for was unreasonable. Read on for the story and see how you feel.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10386500864
    via Wioleta Zakrzewska
  • 02
    AITA for not paying for a painting I asked my friend to do?
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 03
    My (27f) friend, Jordan, (28f) is a wonderful artist. I love her work, so I told her that if she ever considered doing commission pieces, I wanted to be her first customer. She said okay and I sent her a picture of my dad who passed away as a reference. I wanted to give this painting to my mom as a gift. This was back in early 2018. Jordan said she would start on it when she could, but that she was busy. I just thought she did not want to do any commission work yet and just left it at that.
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 04
    A few weeks after our conversation, Jordan posted on social media saying that she was open to do commission pieces and posted how she would charge for those pieces. I messaged her again and she said that she got my order and was starting the piece for me. Per her post, I assumed the piece would be around $200. She also said she was charging her clients around that much, so i should expect to pay about the same. She said she didn't want me to pay until after she was done, so I didn't.
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 05
    For the last 6 years, she would post the other commission pieces she had done. When i asked about mind, she would say she's working on it but they she hasn't had the time to finish it. She often lost her job, was looking for a new place to stay, etc. I understood that times could be hard so I waited. The reason I didn't just stop asking her was because she would sometimes send me snapchats od "sneak peaks" of the painting so I knew she was working on it little by little.
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 06
    Well, flash forward to last weekend, she finally gave it to me. It is a beautiful painting of my dad and I cried looking at it. She then told me it was $700. I was not prepared to pay that much. I told her that when she started doing commissions, she was charging her clients $200-$300. She responded saying that she realized her work was
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 07
    worth more, and also the cost of supplies had gone up since then, plus the amount of time spent working on it. I thought it was unfair to charge me so much given I waited years for this painting. Also within the last 6 years, I had gotten married, bought a house, and have two young children. I do not just have
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 08
    $700 to spare on this painting. She told me that it isn't her fault that I can't afford it and refused pay to give it to me until I could her. I told her to just keep it since I didn't not have the money for it. for wasting She called me a her time on this and left. AITA?
    via u/NeedleworkerFit2589
  • 09
    • Whatsupdoc_af · 5 hr. ago ΝΤΑ She took 6 years to finish it and yet raised the price hundreds of dollars? She took advantage of your friendship imo you aren't the here.
    via u/Whatsupdoc_af
  • 10
    • gracelesswonder · 5 hr. ago Also, that other pieces were being finished well ahead of this one. If she wanted to charge more, she should have finished in a timely manner. Everybody else gets theirs on time for $300, but you wait six years, and she wants double? Nope. NTA.
    via u/gracelesswonder
  • 11
    BeMandalorTomad 5 hr. ago edited 1 hr. ago . I was so ready to vote the other way based on the title but you are absolutely not the The second, and I mean the second she decided that her work was worth more, she should have contacted you and discussed the particulars
    via u/BeMandalorTomad
  • 12
    heather20202024 .5 hr. ago NTA, I'm all for artists and creatives being paid fairly but I feel like Jordan should have said her new price to you (and the price is fine) and checked you could pay that before she went ahead.
    via u/heather20202024
  • 13
    HubertusCatus88 .5 hr. ago ΝΤΑ My wife is an artist who often takes commissions. She sets prices and timelines before she starts actually working on a piece, because that's what professionals do.
    via u/HubertusCatus88
  • 14
    bcelos 4 hr. ago NTA - You're friend sounds a bit off her rocker here. Takes 6 years for a commission and wants 3x the original agreed amount for it? Also she is being spiteful by keeping it, as its not like she will be able to sell it to anyone else. She screwed up by not establishing realistic timelines and pricing for materials with her original quote.
    via u/bcelos
  • 15
    Away_Refuse8493-4 hr. ago SIX YEARS?!?!?! NTA Your friend is nuts. She is not a good businesswoman or a good friend.
    via u/Away_Refuse8493
  • 16
    I don't really think this person is a "friend" because she wouldn't have taken six YEARS. She wouldn't have taken 6 months. I have a friend who does commissioned art, and has it done in about 2-3 months, gives mates' rates and all of her pricing is specified up front.
    via u/Away_Refuse8493
  • 17
    i-am-from-space .5 hr. ago NTA. She was 6 years late so now she's $700 short.
    via u/i-am-from-space
  • 18
    • sissyjones 1 hr. ago It took 4 years to complete the Sistine chapel. Chick took 6 years on one painting!!!
    via u/sissyjones
  • 19
    • AudDMurphy 4 hr. ago NTA It sounds like she never took your commission seriously. To her this was a side project she would work on between other things. Which is on its face. You were a paying customer from the beginning. She just decided you could wait until everyone else was served.
    via u/AudDMurphy
  • 20
    And if she was going to give you a discount or do this as a favor, that's fair. But she was charging you the same price. Your friend also needs to understand that you can't just change the terms of a commission without any notification and expect no backlash. I would be if I commissioned ANYTHING for $200 and it was delivered six years late and with a price tag of $700.
    via u/AudDMurphy
  • 21
    Oh the cost of materials went up? Too bad. You deliver for the quoted price or attempt to re- negotiate midway through. You're not the Your friend, on the other hand, has been the to you for at least 6 years.
    via u/AudDMurphy

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artists businesses friendship feud painter arts artist commission friends reddit story take my money argument paintings boundaries painting reddit thread Reddit business money
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