Mediums & occasions
Portraits by Subject, Medium and Occasion
We paint in acrylic by default, in oil on request, and also in charcoal, watercolour and pencil — any subject, any medium, from your photo. The pages below explain how each medium looks and ships, and how to time a portrait for a date.
By style
How the painting is conceived — realistic, classical, impressionist or decorative. A different axis from how far it is taken.
Realistic portraits
Hand-painted realistic portraits from your photograph: natural light, true colour, the likeness carried exactly. The style most commissions are painted in, for pets, people, houses and landscapes.
57 worksClassical portraits
Hand-painted portraits in the classical manner: a dark warm ground, light brought to the face, everything else allowed to fall away. Painted from your photograph by painters trained on master copies.
20 worksImpressionist portraits
Hand-painted impressionist work from your photograph: broken colour, visible brushwork, form built from marks rather than described. Pets, people, gardens and views.
10 worksDecorative paintings
Hand-painted decorative work: subjective colour, flat and graphic treatment, pieces chosen for a room rather than for a likeness. Made to brief for designers, hotels and gift retail.
12 worksBy subject
Beyond pets and people: the house, the land, the view from the window.
House portraits
Hand-painted portraits of houses, estates, farms and shopfronts from your photograph, in acrylic, oil or watercolour. Closing gifts, farewell gifts and family homes, painted to the architecture.
4 worksLandscapes & scenes
Hand-painted landscape paintings from your photograph — the view from a holiday, an estate, a vineyard, a farm, a coastline — in acrylic, oil or watercolour. Also painted as decor for designers and galleries.
16 worksBy medium
Acrylic on canvas is the default and oil the traditional alternative; charcoal, watercolour and pencil on paper are available for every subject.
Acrylic portraits
Hand-painted acrylic portraits on canvas from your photo — the medium we paint in by default. Lightfast artist-grade colour, dries in hours rather than weeks, ships sooner. When to choose oil instead.
Read moreOil portraits
Hand-painted oil portraits on canvas from your photo, painted on request. What oil looks like, why it lasts, how it is cured, varnished and shipped, and when acrylic is the better choice.
Read moreCharcoal portraits
Hand-drawn charcoal portraits on archival paper from your photo — tonal, quiet, and quick to frame. What charcoal suits, how it is fixed and shipped flat, and how it is priced.
Read moreWatercolour portraits
Hand-painted watercolour portraits on archival paper from your photo — light, transparent and informal. What watercolour suits, how it is shipped flat, and how it is priced.
Read morePencil portraits
Hand-drawn pencil portraits on archival paper from your photo — graphite for a fine tonal drawing, coloured pencil for detailed colour. What each suits, how they are shipped flat, and how they are priced.
2 worksBy occasion
Gift portraits with the timing, sizes and photo advice that suit the date.
What we can do
Combining photographs, working from old or damaged ones, adding lettering.
Compilation portraits
How we combine several photographs into one hand-painted portrait — family members photographed apart, pets that never met, a person who has passed added to a group — with a sketch for approval before painting.
Read moreFrom old or damaged photos
How we paint portraits from old prints, faded and creased photographs, small or blurry files and screenshots — what they can support, how we scan and combine them, and when we say a photo will not work.
Read moreThe studio
Master copies, studies and murals — what the painters can do when nobody has commissioned anything.
Ask about a portrait
Send a photo and a few details. We reply with a quote and tell you honestly whether the photo will work.
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