In Summary. Before I can begin creating your hand-painted portrait, I'll need an appropriate photograph for inspiration and a down payment of at least 30% for supplies.

Portrait requests will be completed in the order received. Turnaround time will depend upon the size and complexity of your portrait and the number of orders already in the works...which I'll tell you in a confirmation email that includes an estimated completion date. You'll have a chance to review and approve your portrait (and request a change, if desired) before the portrait is finalized and readied for shipment.

Submitting Your Photo. Your photo submission must be a close-up image of the subject to be painted. It may be either color or black and white, and the print size of the original photo needs to be at least 4" x 6".

You can electronically submit a high-resolution scan of a film photograph or a high-resolution digital image from a digital camera. JPEG (.jpg) files are best for e-transport, but please be sure to minimize or eliminate any compression. Irfanview and Google's Picasa are free image editing programs that allow you to save files without compression.

• If electronic submission is not an option, you may submit a high-resolution print of your photograph via regular mail. Please contact me for mailing instructions.

If a 4" x 6" print (the minimum suggested size) is scanned, set the scan resolution to 300dpi, which will result in an image that is 1200 pixels by 1800 pixels. Digital camera photos may be sent straight from the camera, or you may resize to no smaller than the above-mentioned dimensions if the original file size is too large for e-transport (as long as they are at least 300ppi (pixels per inch).

• For more detailed information on the subject of DPI vs. PPI, check out this informative article by Ken Watson.

What's a close-up image? The photo should feature only the person whose portrait you want painted, and the FACE should be the focus of the photo. In other words, the person's face should fill up the photo!

BAD photo examples (click on the thumbnail to view a larger image):

GOOD photo examples:

Portraits can include multiple subjects. If you desire a hand-painted portrait of two people, it's okay to submit one photo with both subjects, as long as the photo zooms in on their faces, such as this example:

If you desire a portrait of three or more people (a family portrait, for example), close-up photos of each person are preferable, so that I will have the level of detail I need to paint the best representation of each person. Commercial family photographs do not typically zoom in on faces so they are not really suitable for inspiring my hand-painted portraits.
I will fill the entire canvas space, so the larger the image and the closer the subject, the better!

Down payment required. A 30% down payment is required at the time of your order. The down payment is our mutual commitment to the project and it provides funds for the supplies needed to complete your hand-painted portrait.

Preferred payment is via PayPal™; however, you may contact me to discuss other acceptable forms of payment.

Turnaround Time. Once your photo and down payment are received, I will provide a confirmation email that includes an estimated completion date. Portrait requests will be completed in the order received. The turnaround time is dependent upon the size of the painting, the number of subjects and how many other orders I'm working on.

The process. After sketching the image(s) on the canvas, I use the highest quality oil paints to complete your portrait. Depending upon the size of the canvas, it will take 8-12 hours to complete each face. Once the portrait is completed, it will take approximately two weeks to thoroughly dry.

During that time, I will send you an electronic proof to review and approve. The portrait purchase price includes one modification. (Note that additional modifications incur additional fees.)

Upon your final approval, and receipt of the balance of your order, the completely dry portrait will be sealed using a varnish that protects the oil painting against fading and any accidental spills on the surface.

I will then ship your hand-painted portrait to the address provided. All portraits are carefully packaged and shipped using US Postal Service Mail.

Please note that the portraits will be shipped UNframed. The canvas depth is a standard ½”, unless otherwise requested, and the edges will be painted to match the background of the painting.

Please contact me if you have any questions!