Performance anxiety shows up in all kinds of professions. Don't let anyone kid you: presenting a completed portrait to a client is always stressful!
The more you paint and the more work you get out there in front of people, though, the less stressful it will be. As you improve your skills your confidence will also improve. As the saying goes: just do it!
On another topic, I wanted to respond to this:
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. I even had a company offer a commission to do an entire wall of the characters and scenes from NewLine Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings".
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A commission like that can get you in big trouble with copyright laws and you're better off not doing it at all. People often think, oh, no one will ever find out, but the Disney company has been known to sue preschools for putting Mickey Mouse murals in their classrooms. Don't bet that jobs like the one you describe will simply hide in safe obscurity. Better not take on any commissions like that one in the first place.