There is something deeply moving about walking into a home and seeing a family portrait on the wall. Not a photograph. Not a framed snapshot from a holiday. But a painted portrait created slowly, intentionally, with time and care. A family portrait oil painting has a different kind of presence. It doesn’t just show who belongs together. It tells you something about what matters to them. It holds the atmosphere of a relationship. It carries warmth, history, identity. And perhaps most...

People often ask me the same question before commissioning a portrait: how much does it cost and why? It’s a fair question. When someone considers investing in a commissioned oil portrait, they are not just buying a painting. They are asking an artist to translate a memory, a relationship, or a personality into something permanent. And naturally, they want to understand what determines the portrait painting price. The short answer is: it depends. The honest answer is: it depends on much more...

I still remember the first time I realised that portrait painting is not really about faces. It happened years ago, in front of a canvas that was supposed to become a simple commission. The client had given me a photograph, a clear reference, good lighting, everything I needed. Technically, it should have been straightforward. But as I started working, something felt off. The proportions were right, the colours were accurate, the brushwork was clean .... yet the painting didn’t feel alive. It...