Custom Orders and Portraits

1st-Art-Gallery can turn any old photograph or a digital image into a handmade oil painting masterpiece. We can create anything from a portrait of yourself, your family and loved ones to a painting of your favorite vacation spot or first car.

And if you're looking for a particular painting which isn't currently available on our website—an artwork you've seen online, in a magazine, in an auction, or anywhere else—no problem. Simply click on the Request-A- Quote button on the top navigation bar and fill out the form. We will get back to you with a quote within a few hours.

We have all seen photographs of our parents and grandparents weddings and would expect that our children and their children will be able to do the same. But why be satisfied with just a photograph when you can now afford a handmade wedding portrait, a privilege that up until recently was reserved only for royalty? 1st Art Galley can turn any of your wedding photos into a handmade masterpiece. One that will hang on your walls for decades and be passed from generation to generation.

We can turn any photograph into a handmade oil on canvas masterpiece. If you have a photo you want the oil portrait based on, but there are elements within that photo which you would like to change - the clothes worn by the subject for example, then our artists can certainly help. This style works particularly well with children, with a picture making a great present for any parent or grandparent. Many things are possible. If you have a special request, just ask.

Composite Painting: Our artists can also work from many different photos to create a single painting—combining a background from one, a subject from another and a style from a third. But that’s just one option. You can change the clothes of a subject, remove or add people and do just about anything you can think of. Here are some examples of the masterpieces our artists can paint. As you can see, you’re only limited by your imagination.

We can insert your face into a famous painting, or repaint you in a particular style. Can you imagine your family photo in the style of Picasso? Or your portrait in the style of Van Gogh or Andy Warhol?

Please note—we do need to work from pictures. We cannot create a painting from a narrative, so we will need images to work from and copy. If you'd like to create a complex custom painting merging several images and ideas together, it might be best to work with a photoshop artist and create a digital image that we can then copy “as is” with little or no change. It is much easier to correct a photoshop image than it is to change a painting! If you would like a face inserted into a famous painting, you must provide us with images in which the face is positioned exactly as in the original, such as in this Mona Lisa example.

Which photos make the best portraits? Our handmade masterpieces can only be as good as the images that they are based on. For the best portraits send us the highest quality digital images you can manage. Take enough shots to choose the best photo for our painters to work with. Before they start painting, our professional artists review every photo submitted to obtain the best possible results.

We've created a lights system to help you understand which photos make the best portraits.

Green light: These are the best photos, and work very well in all styles

The best images have a sharp focus and the subject fills up most of the frame. This allows us to zoom in on facial features so there are plenty of details for our portrait artist to work with.

Best photos:

• Sharp focus throughout the frame.

• Subject fills most of the frame.

• Clarity of details.

Yellow light: These are reasonable photos and work in most styles

Acceptable images are those that don’t have the clarity or focus of the best shots. When you zoom in on details the lines are not as sharp. We can still work with such images but they aren't ideal.

Acceptable photos:

• Almost clear focus, especially on subject.

• Subject fills most of the frame.

• Medium clarity of details.

Red Light: These are poor photos and won’t work well in most of the styles. Images which are out of focus, blurred, or foggy will not give good results, as well as images in which the subject is too close, too far or too mall. Poor clarity of details due to over or under exposure and low resolution images make poor photographs and are far from ideal. They should not be used.

Still, if you have a one-of-a-kind photo that you really want made into a paining, send it to us and our expert editors will advise you of the feasibility of turning it into a painting.

Poor photos:

• Out of focus, blurred, or foggy.

• Subject too close, too far away, or not cented in the frame .

• Poor clarity of details due to over/under exposure or low digital resolution.

If you have any further questions about Custom Orders & Portraits do not hesitate to write us by email, online chat or contact us by phone.