I WANT TO PAINT YOUR PETS, KIDS, GRANDPARENTS AND PARTNERS

Your family photos are amazing!

Yes, I love your old, faded, well-cherished, but rarely seen images spilling out of heavy albums and sitting on your hard drives and phones.

Show me your vacations, holiday gatherings, furry companions and first steps and I will create an original artwork that commemorates and honors your personal histories.

I use the finest oil paints, quality canvases, delight and inspiration to create custom artwork that will become a treasured family heirloom.

COMMISSIONED PAINTINGS GALLERY

Elevating Personal Histories

Most of the paintings that I make have to do with personal histories.

And I don't mean history the capital H, but small, intimate, everyday histories of common people. 

And it's only natural that I end up doing a lot of family portrait commissions using family albums, digital snapshots, and vintage photographs.

I really like to work with goofy, a little irreverent and fun images. I really like when the source images have immediacy and aliveness, and aren't overly posed. 

Amateur snapshots are always a better starting point for the sort of commissioned painting I make than professional studio shots. Painting these types of commissions is deeply satisfying for me as an artist and my clients end up with a unique work of art. 

I always offer a free video chat consultation to look at your images together because not all awesome pictures can translate well into a painting.

This is the time for me to hear family stories about the people and the pictures, about that specific moment and about what they feel when they look at the image and why they want it memorialized as a lasting family heirloom. These stories inform the process of me creating a truly personalized artwork.

Canvases and Materials:

I use high quality pre-stretched canvases that get two additional coats of gesso primer on top of the standard factory gesso to ensure a stable archival quality surface. Oil paint is caustic by nature and this extra precaution ensures longevity and beauty of the finished painting.

You get to choose between a standard ¾ inch depth canvas which is easiest to frame, or if you prefer a contemporary unframed look, you can opt for a gallery wrapped 1 ⅓ inch depth canvas which looks great without additional framing, but can always be framed later if you wish.

Oil paint and mediums:

Vast majority of my paints and mediums are made locally here in Portland. We are fortunate to have two world class oil paint manufacturers in out city: Gamblin and M.Graham. Both companies make outstanding quality paints that produce superior results and are a joy to work with.

I use M.Graham brand walnut alkyd painting medium that is fast drying, won't yellow with time and is safer to use a lot of traditional oil painting mediums.

Style and portrait likeness expectations:

My painting style is best described as painterly realism with impressionist elements.

Please look closely over the portfolio of past commissions at the top of the page to get a good idea of my painting style.

If you are looking for a photorealistic painting that is a close copy of your original photograph I am not your artist.
It will be cheaper to get your local Kinkos to print your photo on canvas for a fraction of my price 😉

I take great care to represent the likeness of your loved ones in these paintings, however I am more focused on the overall emotion and atmosphere of the image rather than on the tiny details.

Please note that I paint in large strokes and allow for the expressive nature of oil paint to create a dynamic and exciting artwork rather than an exact handmade reproduction.

COMMISSIONED
OIL PAINTING RATES:

14x11 inches $650

20x24 inches                       $950

30x40 inches                     $1750

Domestic shipping is included. International shipping charges apply for orders outside of the USA.

Please inquire about specific shipping costs.

A 50% deposit is required to start commission work. The remaining 50% is due by pick up/delivery.

Send me a message and lets create your special painting together!

Shipping artwork worldwide

In this video I walk you through the multistep process of packaging fine art for shipping.
I explain the importance of each layer, and you get to see me build a custom box for the shipment