With a background as a custom picture framer, and because I am almost obsessive about "presentation", it has been my policy and practice to routinely cut custom, triple mats for each and every portrait that I ship. Mats are selected to complement the colors of the portrait, of course, but if your home decor demands a certain tone, your input is carefully considered in the final selection of colors. There is no additional charge for these mats. Triple mats come with every pet portrait, every people portrait, everything I sell! I wouldn't send my work to you any other way. Triple mats add so much to the beauty of art pieces. I address the matter of protecting art on paper in another section of this site, but dry mounting is so crucial to the long term appearance of a portrait done on paper, that I regard it as not so much of a "feature", as an IMPERATIVE! Paper is very, very susceptible to moisture, even at what seems like fairly low levels of humidity in a home, and even when framed and "safely" under glass. When paper absorbs humidity, it stretches, causing the characteristic warping and puckering you see in so many paper prints and photos in your home. Dry mounting is a process in which paper is permanently adhered to a rigid, stable, acid free substrate, most often a product called foam core board. Custom framers use it for backer boards, and when dry mounting is called for (usually an extra cost item offered to a customer), acid free, 3/16" foam board is usually the backer board of choice, as it will never warp from humidity. Most often, a heat sensitive tissue is used in an expensive, plate bed heat press, such as the one shown below. The tissue is layered between the paper item being dry mounted, and the foam core board, and when left in the heat press for a few minutes, the tissue melts into a permanent "glue", sticking the paper permanently to the foam board. With almost 15 years as a custom picture framer in my background, I still maintain a small schedule at a local frame shop. So, I have access to this particular press, and to dry mount materials at cost. If I didn't, I'd still buy foam board independently, and would use a double, rubber cement application, on both the foam board and the portrait paper, to achieve a permanent bond between the two. It's a process that costs time and money, no matter how it''s done, but I would not even consider sending commissioned portraits which have not been dry mounted. That, too, is included at no "extra" cost. Because of my association with the frame shop, I can order frames, glass, and all the other materials needed to complete a professional, custom framing job, at a cost that most frame shops, including the one I work at, can't begin to compete with. I do custom framing, at rock bottom prices, using only high quality, solid wood frame moldings, as a courtesy to my good and true customers, as my way of saying "thankyou": for entrusting me with the happy task of capturing your pet in a fine portrait. Custom framing is an option only, and not something I aggressively push. It's not in my nature to be a high pressure sales type, and there simply isn't enough net profit, for what I charge, to make framing an enormous profit booster. OK, I've referenced "costs" in a roundabout way, at several points already, on this page, By now you're probably saying, "Get to the point, how much IS this portrait going to cost me?" :-) Ummmm, no, not that much! LOL I've kept my prices low, lower, lowest, for a good long time. A portrait which averages about 15" x 19" (about 20" x 24" when matted and framed) costs only $250. Truthfully, between you, me, and anyone else who's listening, that's a pretty decent deal, on a couple levels. I have compared my portraits with those of many of the better "known" artists, and the single biggest difference I see is in pricing, certainly not in quality. Most of the leading pet portrait and people portrait artists start at least double my cost. It must be considered an even better deal, though, because with my background as a custom picture framer, and my insistence that my portraits be presented to customers in their best possible light, I routinely triple mat each and every portrait, at no additional cost! Then, add in the fact that every portrait is dry mounted, at no extra cost... For those folks who might want a much larger portrait, the pastel paper I have used, and much prefer, is now available in the States in 24" x 36": sheets. If you have a larger home, and a larger budget, a portrait that size will run $600. For either size portrait, these two price quotes are for a single pet in the portrait. If you wish to have additional pets portrayed, in the smaller size, each extra pet will cost you $40...in the 24" x 36", extra pets will run $100 each. There is a practical limit, aesthetically, because as you add more pets, each pet has to be made smaller, to fit that size portrait that you've chosen. The only other "extra cost" possibility, might be that you want a special, highly detailed background in your portrait. I'd want to discuss this on a case by case basis, before committing to a price quote. As for my flat rate, custom framing offer, on the smaller portraits, custom framing adds an extremely modest $75. Only high quality, solid wood frames are used, oredered specifically for your portrait. These prices do not include shipping charges, but I only add the exact amount of the shipping cost. UPS has been my shipper of choice for a good many years, but their increases this year alone are so outrageous that I have switched to Parcel Post. Framed portraits which are shipped anywhere in the continental US will average only about $15 - $20, and that's all you'll pay. I do not price to make a profit on shipping! If there's a better deal out there, especially for portraits of the highest standards of excellence, I have yet to find it. This site features portraits, pet portraits, pet portrait, pet portraiture, portrait artist , pet portrait artist, people portraits, dog portraits, pet art, portrait painting, animal portraits, portrait artists, family portrait, and senior portraits.