Hi! We just had our daughter's portrait drawn at the GF so hopefully I can help out a little
Our artist was Svetlana, and she did a FABULOUS job capturing my dd, even the sparkle in her eye and the pattern of shine to her hair, I couldn't believe it ! I cried when it was done, it was so beautiful.
We went for the 125.00 16X20 portrait (three quarters of the body) because she was all dressed up from the Park Fare dinner.
I took some photos with our webcam (not good quality) and will try to post them on the web soon. We just got our trip photos back and I wanted to put them up to go with my trip reports.
The sitting took about half an hour total, but dd got to wiggle around a bit after her face was done (about 15 minutes). She really did a good job sitting, I was so proud of her
I don't know about the other artists, but Svetlana said that for children under the age of five, she'll draw from a photograph. I don't believe you can make an appointment, but in the week we were there, I never saw anyone else get their portrait drawn (I'm sure they did, I just didn't see it LOL) so I wouldn't worry about being able to get in for one.
It was worth every penny, not just the portrait itself but the memory of having it drawn on such a special night. I tipped the artist (she was grateful and seemed surprised, but I just had to) my dad did as well I believe. That portrait is a keepsake I will treasure.
Oh, and she packed it up all nice and safe in cardboard and bubble wrap, it survived the plane trip home no problem! I kept it with me at all times (no overhead compartment!) and it now hangs over our piano. I can't stop looking at it
Hope that info helps! If you have any other questions ask away!