Memorials
A painting as a memorial gift
A portrait commissioned after a loss — from the photographs that exist, at the pace the family wants, with the roles divided sensibly.
A memorial portrait is the only commission in this family of gifts with no deadline attached, and that changes the process more than anything else. Nobody needs it by a date; the date is self-imposed, usually out of the discomfort of the living. The temptation is to rush — to have it done, to have done something. A memorial commissioned in a hurry feels like it was, and it has to last for decades.
The work starts from the photographs that exist, not the ones you wish existed. Old prints, faded colour, creases, a phone photo of a photo in a frame — these are the normal starting materials. Restoration is $60–$70 and happens first, with the restored version approved by you before any paint is mixed. If the photographs are truly beyond use, we will say so rather than paint a guess and charge for it.
Dividing the work in a family
Families handle this best when the tasks are divided by ability, not by grief order. One person gathers the photographs — usually the one with the albums. One approves the mock-up and the free adjustment, which should be whoever knew the person's face well enough to be ruthless about a likeness. One person can simply be the payer; payment can be split 50/50 across two cards.
Agree the subject quietly before ordering, because relatives disagree: some want the formal portrait, some the person in the garden in 1994. There is no committee answer. The person who will look at it most often should win, and everyone else should let them.
One role families forget to assign: the person who breaks the deadlock if the photograph search stalls. It stalls often, because every relative has a different favourite and the search for a better frame can outlast the grief. Set a soft internal date — two weeks, say — after which the best available photograph wins. The painting does not need the perfect image; it needs a face that reads, and every week of searching is a week the wall stays empty.
Choosing among the photographs
Do not wait for the perfect photograph — it does not exist, and the search for it stalls commissions for months. Choose the frame where the face reads clearly and the expression is the one the family remembers. A photograph where they are looking slightly away from the camera is often the right one; direct camera faces are for documents.
Two photographs can be combined — the face from one, the setting from another — for $60–$70, approved in the mock-up. If the best available image is a photograph of a photograph, send it anyway; the resolution required is enough to read the face, not enough to print.
If the best available photograph shows the person older than the family remembers them, say so in the brief rather than hoping the painter will guess younger. This is the single most common correction requested on memorial portraits, and it is far easier to address at the mock-up stage — where it costs a conversation — than at the adjustment stage, where it costs a repaint of the face.
Pace, and what the painting is for
Take the full three to five weeks, use the two progress photographs, and let the free adjustment round happen. There is no upside to speed here and a real downside: the first version of a likeness of someone recently lost is often judged too harshly by grieving eyes, and a second look a week later is usually kinder.
The finished canvas arrives rolled in a rigid tube, tracked and insured, shipping free worldwide, with the numbered certificate inside. A local framer can stretch it for $60–$120 when the family is ready — the painting does not impose its own timetable on the household.
A practical note on what the object is for: memorial portraits usually hang where the household passes daily — the hallway, the stairwell, the wall opposite the kitchen table — rather than in formal rooms. Size the canvas to that placement, not to the occasion; a 16 × 20 in at $389 is the size most families choose, and the smaller 12 × 16 in at $289 suits a shelf beside the photographs that were already there.
What it costs
Price is set by canvas size and the number of subjects — not by the occasion, the deadline, or how much detail you ask for. The table below is the same one used on every painting page, so there is no quote to wait for.
| Canvas | Metric | 1 subject | 2 subjects | 3 subjects | 4+ subjects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in | 20 × 25 cm | $189 | $259 | — | — |
| 12 × 16 in | 30 × 41 cm | $289 | $379 | $459 | — |
| 16 × 20 in | 41 × 51 cm | $389 | $499 | $619 | $749 |
| 20 × 24 in | 51 × 61 cm | $549 | $699 | $849 | $1,029 |
| 24 × 36 in | 61 × 91 cm | $789 | $1,059 | $1,290 | $1,560 |
| 30 × 40 in | 76 × 102 cm | $1,090 | $1,449 | $1,749 | $2,090 |
| 36 × 48 in | 91 × 122 cm | $1,390 | $1,849 | $2,249 | $2,690 |
Shipping is free worldwide. Framing is optional and quoted separately — most customers have the canvas stretched by a local framer for $60–$120.
How it works
Send the photograph
One sharp phone photo is enough. Tell us the deadline, the wall it is going on, and anything that must or must not be in the picture.
See the mock-up within 24 hours
A digital composite at the exact canvas size and crop, so size and composition are settled before any paint is bought. Nothing is charged until you approve it.
Watch it being painted
Three to five weeks in real oil, with two progress photographs. You can raise a concern at either one — that is what they are for.
Approve, then it ships
You see the finished canvas first, with one free round of adjustments. Then it travels rolled in a rigid tube, tracked and insured, with the numbered certificate inside.
Real oil, not a print
Hand-painted on cotton canvas, varnished, signed. Brushwork you can see in raking light.
You approve before we paint
A digital mock-up at the exact size and crop, within 24 hours, included in the price.
Numbered certificate
Every painting ships with a signed COA stating artist, medium, size and year.
Free worldwide shipping
Rolled in a rigid tube, tracked and insured. No minimum, no distance surcharge.
Questions
Questions we actually get
No, and accepting that is part of doing this well. Painting takes three to five weeks plus three to five business days in transit, but the calendar pressure is self-imposed at memorials. Take the full time, use the two progress photographs, and let the free adjustment round happen rather than skipping it.
Yes — creased prints, faded colour and photographs of photographs are normal starting material. Restoration is $60–$70 and you approve the restored version before any paint is mixed. If a photograph truly cannot carry a likeness, we will say so rather than guess. Photographs of photographs are equally workable, provided the face is readable — send what exists and we will tell you before you pay anything.
Divide by ability: one gathers photographs, one approves the mock-up and adjustment — whoever knew the face well enough to be ruthless — and one can simply be the payer, with payment split 50/50 if useful. The person who will look at it most should choose the photograph.
The standard table applies: $189 for 8 × 10 in, $289 for 12 × 16 in, $389 for 16 × 20 in, $549 for 20 × 24 in and upward, plus $60–$70 if restoration or combining photographs is needed. There is no memorial surcharge, shipping is free worldwide, and budget $60–$120 for local stretching afterwards if you want it ready to hang.
Yes, as an additional subject at the fixed step shown in the table. Combined photographs are matched for light direction and approved in the mock-up before painting begins. The same process covers a companion who has also died, worked from their own photographs.
Send the photographs when you are ready
There is no deadline to meet. Send what exists — even the damaged photographs — and we will tell you honestly what can be painted from them.