Everything asked, answered

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.

Absolutely, and you should — but frame it locally. A framer who can stand in your room and see your wall will do a better job than we ever could from another continent, and you will avoid paying to ship glass and wood around the world. We send you the exact finished dimensions with your certificate.

Only with their permission. Under the US Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, a painting made from a photograph is a derivative work of that photograph, and the photographer holds the copyright. A wedding print release usually permits printing, not painting. At checkout you confirm that you own the photo or have the photographer's permission.

You own the physical painting, completely and permanently. The copyright in the artwork itself stays with the artist, which means we may photograph the finished piece for our portfolio unless you ask us not to. Reproducing or reselling the image commercially requires a written licence. This is stated plainly on the commission terms page.

Beside every painting there is a photograph we send you, and a revision round you control — so the risk of disappointment is dealt with before shipping rather than after. Because each piece is made specifically for you, finished commissions cannot be returned once approved. Original paintings and prints have a 14-day return window. Full details are on shipping and returns.

By card or PayPal, in US dollars. Larger commissions can be split 50% to begin and 50% before dispatch. You will get a proper invoice either way. We never ask for bank transfers to a personal account.

Constantly, and they are some of our favourite subjects. Fur and eyes respond beautifully to oil. Pet portraits are priced the same as people — the size table applies to any subject. Multi-pet portraits are one of the most common gifts we make.

We would rather not, and here is the honest reason: reproductions of famous works are sold at commodity prices by studios that do nothing else, and the copyright status of many twentieth-century works is genuinely complicated. We paint originals and commissions. If you love a particular painter's light, tell us — we can paint something new in that spirit.

Photograph the parcel before you open it, then photograph the damage, and email us within seven days. We repaint or refund in full, and we handle the insurance claim ourselves. In practice, damage is rare: a canvas rolled inside a rigid tube is one of the safer things you can put in the post.

Every piece ships with one — numbered, signed, listing the title, dimensions, medium and year, plus a short note on how to care for an oil painting. For original works this document is part of what you are buying.

Yes. Tell us the feel you want: soft and classical, loose and painterly, dramatic with dark backgrounds, bright and airy. We paint in a warm realist style by default. If you want something further from that, send reference images and we will say honestly whether we are the right studio for it.

Two ways: fill in the commission enquiry form, or simply email your photo to [email protected]. You will get a real reply from a person, usually within 24 hours, with a fixed price and a delivery date. Nothing is charged until you approve both.