Original gold-leaf work made for a specific wall, a specific light, and a specific room.
Most of my work is made first and found later. A commission reverses that. You start with a wall that needs something that does not exist yet, and we build it to the dimensions, the light, and the room you already have.
I work with private collectors, interior designers, and architects. Confidential projects are normal and handled under NDA.
Genuine gold leaf, or imitation leaf, applied by hand onto a black ground. The mark system is Auruscript, an invented script that carries no readable language. Every surface is built additively, leaf by leaf. Nothing is cut back or removed.
Available at any scale from 24 x 36 in upward, on canvas or paper. Multi-panel work, including diptychs and triptychs, is built as one composition and then divided across panels, so the piece reads as a whole from across the room.
Both are real options. The difference is material, not craft. Labor and design are identical.
Genuine 23k leaf. Gold does not oxidize. The surface you receive is the surface your grandchildren see. 23k reads warm and neutral. Lower karats push yellow, which fights most interiors.
Imitation leaf. A copper and zinc alloy with no gold in it. It looks close on day one and it darkens over years unless sealed and maintained. For a focal wall in a designed interior, this is a practical consideration, not an aesthetic one.
I will tell you which one I would use in your room. The choice is yours.
The more of this you send at the start, the faster you get a real number instead of a range.
Wall width and height. Ceiling height. Width and height of any furniture below the work, and the distance from the top of that furniture to where the art should sit. A photograph of the wall, and a second photograph at a different time of day. Your lighting: track, recessed, wall wash, natural, or none yet. Framing preference. Your project deadline. A budget range if you have one.
If you are working with an architect or designer, an elevation drawing answers all of the above at once and is the fastest path to a quote.
Commissioned work is priced by area, at the same rate I use for every piece I sell. Scale changes the number. It does not change the rate.
Commissions start at $3,500. A quote is fixed and confirmed in writing before any work begins, with no additions later.
Genuine gold quotes hold for 30 days. Gold is a traded metal and the spot price moves.
Framing is a separate line item and is quoted by the frame shop, not by me. Hanging hardware is included. Shipping is quoted per work by size and destination.
Six to ten weeks for a single large work, ten to fourteen weeks for a multi-panel commission, from approved deposit.
Substrate preparation and composition take the longest. Leaf application is the shortest phase and the least forgiving, which is why it comes last and is not rushed.
If you are a designer working to a fit-out date, commission at the brief stage rather than the styling stage. Art is usually the last thing scheduled and the first thing noticed.
Gold is not a color. It is a reflector. What you light it with determines what you own.
Use directional light. A track head or a recessed adjustable aimed at roughly 30 degrees from the wall is the standard. Direct, angled light is what makes leaf ignite and makes the seams between sheets read as structure instead of noise.
Avoid flat, even wash. An evenly lit gold surface goes dull and reads like paint. The piece needs a light source it can argue with.
Warm sources, 2700K to 3000K. Cool light pushes genuine gold toward green.
One source is enough. Two heads from opposing angles cancel each other and flatten the surface.
Keep it out of direct sun. Not for the gold, which does not care, but for the black ground and the adhesive layer underneath.
If your lighting is already installed, tell me where the heads are and I will design to them. If it is not installed yet, I will tell your electrician where to put them.
Genuine gold leaf does not tarnish, does not oxidize, and does not fade. It is the most stable material in the piece. Everything else in the work is chosen to match that stability.
Finished surfaces receive a protective coating selected for the substrate, typically an acrylic resin barrier followed by a microcrystalline wax topcoat. This is conservation practice, not furniture polish.
Cleaning. Dust with a clean, dry, soft brush. Nothing else.
Never use household cleaners, glass cleaner, or anything containing ammonia. Ammonia attacks imitation leaf immediately and will mark a genuine surface through the coating.
No water, no solvents, no cloth. A cloth catches on the leaf edge and lifts it.
Humidity and temperature. Ordinary indoor conditions are fine. Avoid hanging directly above a working fireplace or an unvented bathroom.
Framing. Works on paper are framed under glazing. Works on canvas are usually left unglazed, since glass flattens the reflection that the piece is built around. A float frame preserves the reflection and protects the edge.
Handled this way, the work does not need maintenance in your lifetime.
I work under NDA on request. Where a project is confidential, the work is not photographed for publication, not listed on this site, and not shown on social media. If you are willing to allow documentation later, that is agreed separately and in writing, never assumed.
Copyright in the image remains with me. You own the physical work outright, including the right to resell it. Reproduction rights are not transferred with the sale and can be discussed separately if you need them.
The deposit secures a place in the studio schedule and is nonrefundable once the composition is approved. If you cancel before approval, the deposit is returned less documented materials already purchased.
Send your wall, your light, and your deadline. You will get a real answer, not a brochure.