A guy I knew back in high school (pre-2005) posted that he was painting portraits for some extra cash to support himself through what was apparently a very rough divorce. I had recently lost my first “grown up” dog I got as an adult, and I REALLY wanted a painting.
Me: “Hi! Could I ask about your painting commissioning?”
Guy: “Yeah! What’s going on?”
Me: *Sends a picture of my dog.* “I’d like a painting of her. You can do whatever with it – make it silly, put her on a beach, it doesn’t matter. I just lost her a few weeks ago.”
Guy: “For sure! I’m so sorry for your loss. So, I’m charging $300 for a 24×36 canvas painting. The turnaround time is about two months from payment right now, but I will let you know when I get it started.”
Me: “Thank you!”
I sent the money ($400 total with a tip because I really wanted this painting) via Venmo and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I watched his page slowly go from painting for extra cash to get him through his divorce to working out in the gym to look good for his next girl. Three months passed and I hadn’t seen anything, so I sent a message.
Me: “Hey, just following up on that painting.”
Two weeks, no reply.
Me: “[Guy], are you there? I’m just wondering how the picture is going?”
Three weeks, no reply.
Me: “I need to know you’re working on this or I’m going to file for a back charge.”
I wanted that painting, and I wanted to believe he wasn’t just blowing me off, so I waited a while longer. Another month went by before I finally gave up and filed for a refund through Venmo. It took a while, but eventually the money was returned to me. THEN he replied.
Guy: “You f****** b****, are you kidding?! I was working on your project, but I guess I’ll just burn it now, c***!”
Me: “You said it would take two months. I’ve waited over five months, and you couldn’t even reply to a message, but you were posting all the time. Yeah, I got my money back and I’m not sorry. If you say you’re going to do something, follow through!
I blocked him before he could reply. I did get a picture painted by someone else, and it was beautiful.
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