Oil portraits from your photos
Deep colour and soft skin tones, varnished for an heirloom finish.
Oil is the traditional medium of portraiture. It stays workable for days, which lets an artist blend skin tones softly and build colour in layers, and that's where the depth in an oil portrait comes from.
Your portrait is painted in artist-grade oils on primed canvas, with a varnished finish. Oil takes the longest of our mediums: it's ready to dispatch in about 19 days, and express brings the final preview about a third sooner.
In India you can have it rolled, gallery-wrapped or framed. Abroad it travels rolled in a tube, ready to frame where you live.
From the collection
Colour that carries across a room
Oil holds its depth from a distance, so a 24 × 36 inch portrait stays rich from the far side of the room.
The room is computer-generated, shown at about true scale. The portrait is a real painting from our studio.
See every size on the wallHow it works
- Send your photosTell us the story behind them. We suggest the medium, size and composition, and confirm your quote.
- Approve the sketchPay 50% to begin. Your artist sends a composition sketch in two or three days. Ask for changes within your brief.
- Approve the portraitSee progress photos and a final preview, with unlimited revisions within your brief. Pay the balance after you approve it.
- Receive it, insuredWe inspect, pack and ship it, signed by your artist, with a certificate of authenticity.
Good to know
How long does an oil portrait last?
Painted in artist-grade oils on primed canvas and varnished, an oil portrait is made to be handed down. Keep it out of direct sun and damp.
What's the difference between oil and acrylic?
Oil is richer and softer, and takes longer to dry. Acrylic is vivid and crisp and dries quickly, so it arrives sooner.
How big should I go?
It depends on the wall and how many people are in it. The Prices page shows every size to scale above a sofa.