Mediums · Oil portraits
Oil Portraits — Hand-Painted on Canvas From Your Photo
Oil is the traditional portrait medium and we paint in it whenever you ask: the richest colour, the most physical brushwork and the longest life of any portrait medium. It needs curing time before varnish, so an oil commission ships later than the same piece in acrylic.
- Surface
- Triple-primed cotton or linen canvas
- Paint
- Artist-grade oil colours, lightfast pigments
- Finish
- Removable picture varnish after curing
- Detail levels
- Painterly · Refined · Hyperreal
- Drying
- Days to weeks before varnish — never rushed
- Ships
- Rolled in a tube, or framed in a wooden crate
Oil is the medium every other one on this site is compared to, and the one people picture when they say “a painting”. Oil paint stays workable for hours, which is what lets a painter blend the halftones of a face or the direction of fur in the way that makes a portrait look alive. It is applied thicker where light strikes the form and thinner in the shadows, and that physical thickness — the ridges a raking light throws into shadow — is the surest sign that a portrait is a painting and not a print.
How an oil portrait is made
The stages are documented in full on How We Paint: photo review, charcoal drawing, underpainting, blocking in, face and eyes, detail and highlights, varnish and drying, framing or rolling. Oil’s one cost is time: the paint has to cure before it can be varnished, and we never rush that. When a date is close, acrylic follows the same stages with faster drying.
Colour and longevity
We use artist-grade colours with lightfast pigments on triple-primed cotton or linen canvas, finished with a removable picture varnish. Looked after — out of direct sun, away from heat — an oil portrait lasts for generations, and its varnish can be renewed by a conservator decades from now.
Sizes, levels and price
Oil portraits are painted at all three detail levels, from a loose Painterly piece for decor to a Hyperreal memorial, in sizes from 8 × 10 in to 40 × 60 in. Price is set by size, number of subjects, detail level and medium; the list is sent on request. Trade buyers order oil portraits from one piece at trade pricing, singly or as a series for one interior, rolled or crated.
Proof of hand
Real paint, real brushstrokes
Every piece is completed by one painter from start to finish — no assembly line. Below: a close-up crop of a finished painting, and a painter at work. Every image on this site is a photograph of real hand-painted work.
Oil portraits FAQ
Why is oil the default?
Colour depth, texture and longevity. Oil stays workable long enough to blend skin and fur properly, builds real ridges of paint that raking light shows, and lasts for generations. It is what most people mean by "a painting".
When should I choose acrylic instead?
When time is tight. Acrylic dries in hours instead of weeks, so a portrait can be proofed, varnished and shipped sooner. The look is close; oil keeps a slight edge in depth and blending.
Does an oil painting need special care?
No. Keep it out of direct sun and away from heat, dust it with a soft brush, and do not clean it with water. The varnish protects the surface and can be renewed by a conservator in decades to come.
Can an oil portrait ship rolled?
Yes, once cured and varnished — rolled paint-side out around a wide core in a rigid tube, then stretched by a framer at destination. It is the cheapest way to ship internationally and safer than a crate.
Can I order a single piece at trade pricing for a client?
Yes. Trade pricing starts from a single piece, and a project — a series for one interior, or a standing monthly order — is quoted the same way. Request the trade price list from the trade page.
Ask about a oil portraits 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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