Ordering a Hand-Painted Reproduction

The reference determines precision

Choose an image the painter can actually read

A useful reference must be sharp, large enough and faithful to the intended colours. For a museum work, choose the official object page or an institutional open-access platform. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Gallery of Art clearly identify public-domain images available through Open Access; these files are more reliable than a compressed screenshot and often better documented.

From file to parcel

The six actual stages of an order

The studio’s published process separates assessment, proposal, commissioning, painting, approval and shipping. This distinction avoids confusing creation time with transit time.

Framing before dimensions

Choose the size without distorting the work

Respect the width-to-height ratio

Size is more than a length in centimetres. It has an aspect ratio. Moving from a vertical photograph to a square canvas requires cutting the top, bottom or sides unless part of the scene is reconstructed. Before the quotation, request a preview of the framing or draw several frames directly on a copy of the image.

Then consider the wall. As a decorating guideline rather than a rule, a work above a sofa can occupy around 60–75% of the furniture’s width. A family portrait must be large enough for every face to remain readable from the main viewing position. A very detailed canvas needs more surface and greater viewing distance; a simple composition works better at a moderate size.

The custom page states that both standard and bespoke dimensions are possible, including very large formats where feasible. It also explains that the canvas is generally shipped rolled and unframed. You therefore need to plan for local stretching and the margins needed to tension the canvas.

PortraitLandscapeSquarePanoramicVery large format

A painting, not a print

Oil, canvas and brushwork: what you are ordering

In oil painting, the National Gallery explains, pigments are bound in an oily medium. This technique allows transitions, layers and differences in texture that a printed image simulates without physically producing them. A hand-painted reproduction therefore reflects the painter’s decisions: varying thickness, softened edges, visible brushstrokes and corrections.

Canvas is a textile support stretched over a wooden structure and normally prepared before painting. In the service presented here, the canvas is painted with brushes, without a preliminary print being presented as the final result. This does not mean a mechanically exact copy: the hand interprets a two-dimensional image and adapts the material to the chosen scale.

To judge quality, do not look only at the overall image. Request detail views: faces, hands, dark passages, light areas and the composition’s edges. Actual studio photographs are more useful than living-room mock-ups, as they show the surface and small variations that distinguish painting from a print.

The price reflects the work

Why two canvases of the same size can cost different amounts

Surface area tells only part of the quotation’s story. A broad sky and a group portrait of the same size require neither the same drawing nor the same time. The studio considers dimensions, number of figures, hands and faces, architecture, patterns, technique, file quality and requested adaptations.

To compare two quotations, use the same brief: painted dimensions, number of subjects, background, finish, revisions, shipping and estimated time. An isolated price is comparable only if the scope is too.

Checking before shipping

Photographs, revisions and final approval

How to request a useful revision

The dedicated page provides for a photograph of the finished canvas before shipping and up to four rounds of reasonable adjustments. Use this stage methodically. Compare the overall composition first, then proportions, likeness, light and dark values, dominant colours and finally important details.

Group your comments in a single message. Number the areas on a copy of the photograph and describe the desired result: “soften the shadow beneath the right eye” is more actionable than “the face is wrong”. Distinguish a correction consistent with the brief from a change of project, such as adding a person or replacing the entire background.

Final agreement sets the next stages in motion: drying, protection and logistics. After approval, a late change may damage the surface or delay dispatch. Reread your original brief before confirming, and check any names, dates or inscriptions included in the image.

CompositionLikenessColoursDetailsFinal agreement

Create, dry, transport

The total lead time is more than transit time alone

The shop’s current FAQ states an average production time of 14 days for an oil painting, followed by around five days of FedEx transit after dispatch. These guidelines do not constitute a guaranteed delivery date. Approval, revisions and drying must be included in the schedule confirmed in the quotation; complexity, destination and local formalities may extend it.

The canvas is generally sent rolled, unframed, in protective packaging. This reduces bulk and certain risks associated with transporting stretcher bars or a frame. On receipt, a framer can stretch the canvas and add the chosen finish. Never press directly on the painted face or carry a mounted canvas by its hanging wire.

Canadian Conservation Institute recommendations identify impacts, vibration, pressure and environmental changes as major risks to a painting on canvas. Rigid packaging, padding that prevents movement and handling by the edges or structure are therefore more important than an attractive parcel alone.

Portrait, family, wedding or pet

Direct access to the Personalised Paintings collection

If your project starts with a personal photograph rather than a museum painting, the dedicated collection offers several types of personalised portrait. They provide a clear starting point according to the number of subjects and nature of the memory.

Personalised portrait collection

Personalised Paintings

Choose the route suited to your photograph: one person, a couple, a family, a wedding or a relationship with your pet.

Explore the collection →

Individual portrait

One person

To focus the composition on a face, expression and presence.

Wedding memory

Wedding painting

To turn a ceremony photograph into a lasting composition.

Group portrait

Family painting

To bring several people together in a balanced composition.

A portrait of companionship

Pet and person

To preserve the relationship between someone close to you and their companion.

Verified practical pages

From guide to a well-prepared order

These pages published by the shop explain quotations, actual work, approval, shipping and common questions.

Institutional references

Technical sources and reliable images

To understand the materials, consult the Oil and Canvas glossaries from the National Gallery. To find quality references when a work is in the public domain, check the Met’s Open Access and National Gallery of Art’s Free Images and Open Access policies. For handling and transport, the Canadian Conservation Institute explains the risks and suitable protection for paintings.

Sources consulted: National Gallery, oil and canvas glossaries; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Open Access policy; National Gallery of Art, Free Images and Open Access; Canadian Conservation Institute, Caring for paintings and Basic Handling of Paintings. Technical references checked on 25 September 2026.