Custom portraits
Your photograph, painted by hand in oil
Real oil paint on real canvas. Every commission is priced from a published table, mocked up before it is painted, and approved by you twice along the way.
What you are buying
Not a filter. Not a canvas print.
A painting made with brushes and oil, on cotton canvas, by a person who can see the photograph you sent and paint what is actually in it — the way someone holds their hands, the particular grey in a dog's muzzle, the crease that only appears when your mother laughs.
A print has no brushstrokes. You can see brushstrokes from the side of a real painting, and you can feel the texture of the paint with your thumb.
- Photograph, painted in oil by hand
- Digital mock-up approved before any paint is mixed
- Two progress photographs during the painting
- One free round of adjustments on the finished piece
- Signed, varnished, numbered certificate of authenticity
- Rolled in a rigid tube, shipped free worldwide
Prices
The whole price table
Priced by canvas area and by how many subjects are in it — the two things that actually change how long a painting takes. No quote form, no hidden minimum.
| Canvas size | 1 subject | 2 subjects | 3 subjects | 4+ subjects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in | $189 | $259 | — | — |
| 12 × 16 in | $289 | $379 | $459 | — |
| 16 × 20 in | $389 | $499 | $619 | $749 |
| 20 × 24 in | $549 | $699 | $849 | $1,029 |
| 24 × 36 in | $789 | $1,059 | $1,290 | $1,560 |
| 30 × 40 in | $1,090 | $1,449 | $1,749 | $2,090 |
| 36 × 48 in | $1,390 | $1,849 | $2,249 | $2,690 |
Additions
| Extra subject beyond the table | +$110 each |
| Background change or combining two photos into one composition | +$60 |
| Restoration of an old, creased or faded photograph | +$70 |
| Rush — three weeks instead of five, painting included | +$90 |
| Second revision round after approval (the first is free) | +$80 |
| Linen canvas instead of cotton | +$60 |
How to read it
A subject is a face — a person, a pet, or a house. Three people in one photograph is three subjects. Included subjects per canvas size are shown in the table above.
If two sizes are close, take the larger. The most common regret people report is ordering one size down.
Everything below is fixed. The price you see is the price you pay, in US dollars, with shipping included. The only thing we cannot cover is duty or import VAT charged by your own country.
Most people choose 16 × 20 in. It is the first size that reads as a portrait rather than a picture, and it holds a wall without needing a frame.
Getting a good painting
What makes a photo work
More commissions are ruined by the source photograph than by anything the painter does. These four things matter more than camera quality.
Sharp, not perfect
A phone photo is fine. What matters is that the face is in focus at full size, not that it was taken on a professional camera.
Evenly lit
Soft daylight or a well-lit room. Hard flash flattens features and puts shadows in the wrong places.
Facing the camera
Slight angles are fine and often better. Fully turned-away faces cost you the likeness.
Send more than one
Two or three photographs give us far more to work with. We will say if the best one is not good enough — before you pay.
Old, damaged, faded, torn or black-and-white photos are welcome. Restoration and combining two photographs into a single composition is a small addition, and it is a large part of what we do. Send whatever you have and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
Before you order
The questions people ask here
Between $189 and $2,690 for a single canvas, depending on size and how many people or pets are in it. The full table is on the custom portraits page — nothing is hidden behind a quote form. A 16 × 20 in canvas with one subject is $389, which is the size most people choose.
Three to five weeks of painting time, plus three to five business days in transit. Rush delivery (three weeks, painting included) is available at checkout for $90. We are honest about one thing our industry is not: a genuine oil painting cannot be finished in three days. Oil needs to dry between layers, and the varnish needs to cure.
Yes — because you approve it before we paint. After you send your photo we produce a digital mock-up showing the exact composition, crop and background. Nothing is painted until you say go. When the painting is finished we send you a photograph of the real canvas, and you get one free round of adjustments. If the finished painting is genuinely off, we repaint it.
Any normal phone photo works, as long as it is sharp and the faces are clearly lit. Send it by email, or share a link to a cloud folder. If your photo is old, creased, faded or torn, say so — restoration or compositing two photos together is a $60–$70 addition, and it is one of the things we are best at.
We will tell you honestly, before you pay anything. A blurry or badly lit photo is the single most common reason a commission disappoints. Often we can work from a second photo, brighten it digitally, or merge two shots. If the source simply cannot support the size you want, we will recommend a smaller canvas rather than take your money.
Real oil paint, on real canvas, applied by hand with brushes. Not a digital filter, not a canvas print with a texture overlay. Every painting is signed, varnished with an archival gloss, and delivered with a numbered certificate of authenticity. You will be able to see the brushstrokes and the texture of the paint from the side — that is the test.
Yes to both. Paintings leave the studio rolled in a rigid, moisture-protected tube — never stretched on a frame — because rolled canvas travels safely and keeps shipping free. Tracked and insured, worldwide, at no extra cost to you. Duty and import VAT charged by your own country are the one thing we cannot cover.
The canvas arrives rolled in a tube. Any local framer will stretch it onto stretcher bars — usually for the price of a takeaway meal, and in a few days. It is a genuine advantage: a stretched painting shipped across the world arrives in a wooden crate at three to five times the freight cost, and it is far more likely to be damaged. If you would rather we handle it, ask us about our US stretching partner before you order.
Send us your photo
You will get a fixed price, a delivery date, and an honest opinion on whether the photograph can carry the size you want.