What Is a Mixed Media Painted Portrait?
Unlike certain digital painting effects that can be achieved with a few mouse clicks in an app, these portraits are based on an existing photograph and are painted completely in Photoshop, using a special art pen and specialty brushes, a technique that closely imitates traditional oil painting. The brushes move the pixels around similar to real paint. The result can be made more photographic or more painterly. The painting process can take several hours or more, depending on the number of subjects, the amount of detailed work involved, and the quality of the original photograph.
What Kind of Photograph Can Be Painted?
I create paintings based on a client's personal photograph, including ones made with a phone, or one that I made in a studio session.* The better the quality of the photo, and the larger the subject in the frame, the better your results will be. The nice thing about these paintings is that you don't have to travel to my location to commission one. I can have finished paintings on canvas shipped directly to you (within the United States).
Pricing
Each painting is commissioned; you would pay a fee for me to create a painting for you. The base creative fee is $200 and is not refundable. The fee may be more with multiple or difficult subjects. You will be shown 2-4 drafts during the process. Because each situation is different, there is no set price that applies to all. The final quote will be based on the estimated time to create the painting* and the cost of the canvas, which is the medium strongly recommended for best results.
My portraits are printed on archival stretched canvases through one of several professional labs. I also offer a high-end, museum-quality product. These start at 20" on the long side (16x20, 20x20, etc.) but I will work with you, if you need something special; please ask!
How to Commission a Painting
Use the form below to contact me and we'll set up a time to talk by phone or Zoom to discuss what you have in mind in terms of the subject, medium, and size. You'll then send me the image that you want painted, and I will provide you with a quote. You pay the retainer and I create the painting. You will be able to view your painting online 2-4 times during the process before it is ordered. You give me permission to use your painting, along with the original photograph, on my web site or in print media, in order to display my work for others to view.
NOTE: To paint a portrait from a photograph made professionally made by another photographer, I need the explicit written permission from that photographer to use and to make artistic edits to that image.
View more paintings on this site.
**The amount of time it takes to create a painting depends on the quality of the original photograph, the difficulty of the subject, and the number of subjects in the painting.
© Constance Sanders Photography