When buying a piece of art you have many options. One of the most important things to consider is whether you want to commission a bronze sculpture or if you want to purchase a limited edition sculpture. Both are excellent ways to increase your private or public art collection.
Commissioned Sculptures
A commissioned sculpture is a piece of art that someone has specifically requested an artist create. Cities and towns, committees and groups, businesses, schools, organizations and individuals will commission a sculpture.
Public Art is frequently funded, at least in part, by a specific fund. It is common for 1% of all public building funds be dedicated to some sort of Public Art project.
Sometimes the piece is a memorial, such as the statue that Greg created for the Veteran’s War Memorial in Monmouth, Illinois.
A piece may also be created to honor the memory of an individual and installed in a location that has meaning for that individual. Greg created such a piece honoring the founder of Focus on the Family which is located at their headquarters in Colorado Springs, and a sculpture
of an EMS student, installed on the campus where she studied.
Other figurative sculpture commissions serve to remind the viewer of a specific event or time in history, or to honor a specific group. Some of Greg’s commissions include Legacy of Service which honors the commitment of police officers and Under Control, depicting firefighters.
Most commissions are one-of-a-kind sculptures. In many cases, they build upon an idea that was already sculpted. Because of the costs involved in creating molds, which are necessary for every sculpture, an artist can often save a commissioning group money if he can use portions of past sculptures when creating a unique piece of art.
Limited Edition Bronze Sculptures
Since creating a bronze sculpture is expensive, with the molding and casting costs being the largest factor, most sculptures which are not specifically commissioned are offered in a limited edition. Generally the edition size is less than 25, and may be as small as 5. The sculptor does not cast every piece in the edition at one time. Instead, the artist authorizes the casting as needed. The edition number will generally be indicated in the casting itself, along with the artist’s signature. For example 2/20 would indicated this piece was the 2nd out of an edition of 20. It is always possible that the edition will never be fully completed, but once the artist has cast the maximum number, the molds are destroyed.
Purchasing 
a limited edition sculpture allows a collector to acquire a piece at a more affordable price then would be possible with a commission. By casting the pieces only as needed, the artist also has the opportunity to modify the sculptures slightly for the buyer. In his piece, More Than Words, Greg will often modify the text in the book that the mother and children are reading to reflect the buyer’s interests or business.