All custom made art is hand made by me in my California studio. I will be the only person communicating with you about your custom order.

There are separate order forms for custom made artwork. Just click the links below:

• Custom painted Portraits
• Custom made Miniatures

• A digital portrait is painted with a stylus and a tablet. The artwork is made to look like an oil painting and is then printed on a canvas . The print will feel smooth to the touch. Digital portraits are painted within 2-3 business days.

• A digital portrait JPG download is a high resolution file that can be downloaded to your computer. One you approve the painting the file is send to you. You can then print it on either your home printer or have it printed at your local print shop. It's a great option for International clients to save on shipping and duty fees.

• An oil portrait starts the same way as a digital portrait so that you can quickly see what the final painting might look like. It is then entirely painted with traditional oil paints on a stretched canvas. The painting will have rich colors and a lovely tactile surface texture. Oil portraits are painted within 3-6 weeks depending on size and complexity.

More about digital paintings

Painting portraits digitally has been a way to get paintings done much faster  than it would take to complete a painting with traditional painting methods.

By using a stylus and computer I still hand paint each work and can combine many more techniques than it would be possible with traditional oil mediums to create interesting effects in a painting.

Once the painting is approved by you it is send it to my printer for printing on stretched canvas.

Your canvas print is printed with high quality inks for longevity and ships directly from my printer.

Since it takes less time to create a hand painted digital artwork it is also less expensive and that makes it a great gifting option.

I paint many animals (big and small), people, house portraits and more. Have a look at the galleries to see samples of my work and contact me if you like to learn more.

Yes, you can have more than one person or pet on one canvas. WE charge a $20 fee for each additional figure in the painting. You will be billed seperatley for add ons

In a perfect world I would request the best quality photo you have, nothing blurry or too dark. However, I do realize that sometimes that is not possible.

 Email me what you have so I can evaluate if I can use the photo reference.

If there are any undesired elements in the photo, I can often remove them. However, there has to be enough detail for me to see what I need to paint.

The more photographs you can send the better. One main photograph is used for the painting and the rest as reference photos to better see details.

Please indicate which photograph best represents your loved one, and which you would like to have for the portrait.

Let me know which photo best depicts his/her true coloring. 

The better the quality of the photograph,  the better the finished painting will be.

Photographs should be clear, in focus with the subject occupying the majority of the frame. Photographs showing subjects in the distance aren't usually good enough to work from. 

Yes. Submit your photos for review. If the reference photos are suitable I can combine them to paint one painting.

Just leave a detailed description at time of check out what you like to have done.

This is consider an add on.

Yes, minor changes can be made free of charge. More complex edits require a lot more work and require a revision fee.

Major revisions are:

• Background change out
• Adding missing limbs
• Combining separate reference photos

If a photo requires restoration or need to be colorized provide the information in the notes to seller upon placing your order. Please provide any details that can help me to colorize it correctly and send screen shots of similar likenesses.

The hair should be blond and the eyes should be blue is often not enough, since there are many shades of blond hair and even blue eyes can be light or darker. The more specific you can be the better the artwork will turn out.

I will send you the colorized photo for approval before continuing.

This is considered a revision and a fee will apply.

Some reference photos require a lot of additional work before they can be turned into a painting.

In the following instances add on fees apply:

• Adding or removing items like backgrounds, missing limbs or other elements.
• Combining different reference photos
• Colorizing black and white photos
• Restoring vintage photos

No. In the initial stages of the painting, I show you several work in progress images for figure placement on the canvas and suggested coloration. 

Any major change requests can be made during that process.

Once the painting process starts you will be invited to look at the work in progress images that are posted to the homepage slideshow.

During that stage minor changes can be requested.

Paintings only ship once you approve the work.

The key to a perfect painting is good communication and it is important to me that you are 100% happy with your custom made painting.

Yes you can. All customers get to preview their artwork via a slide show on the home page and request any changes before the paintings are shipped. We'll email you once your preview is ready.

Full payment is due at time of ordering your custom portrait. We accept all major credit cards and also offer monthly payment plan, which you can see on the checkout page.

Yes, just contact us and we will give you a quote for the desired canvas size.

Yes! The recipient will receive a beautifully designed email with a unique gift code that will enable him / her to order any of my products including Custom painted paintings/portraits or gift items from my shop.

You may also choose to have a hard copy gift certificate mailed to yourself or your recipient. Order a gift certificatehere 

Every painting can be ordered through my store as a reproduction print to be shared with family and friends.

Just let me know and I will upload your finished painting.

Now you can even have your painting printed on a Keepsake Boxes or any other product in my store that offers customization (see here ). 

Expect your artwork to be ready 3-4 days after you placed your order.

Your artwork is shipped within 2-3 days of you approving your artwork.

Digital painting are shipped via our printer after 4-6 business days.

All custom orders ship with tracking.

Please allow a longer delivery time during seasonal shopping periods.

I work with you every step of the way throughout the creative process to make sure that you are 100% happy with the look.

Custom made artwork only ships once you have approved the final version and is therefore non refundable/exchangable.

If your artwork gets damaged while in transit send it back and get a full refund or a replacement. Otherwise only store credit is given ones the item has been returned in it's original condition and packaging within 7 days of receipt.

Almost all items on my website are either hand made or designed by me.

I work with a variety of vendors to get my designs printed on products and shipped directly to you.

Yes, all paintings and miniatures will be displayed on the website, blog and social networking sites (names are withheld). To further protect a client's identity fictitious titles other than real names are used for portraits. If clients prefer that their artwork not to be displayed must let me know upon ordering. By showing what I make for clients it helps me to advertise what I do and attract new business. That and word of mouth recommendations are how I stay in business.

Portraits By NC retains the reproduction rights to all of the original artwork. Just as you retain the copyright to your photos, the artist retains the copyright to the artwork that is created from your photo reference. If you are looking to commission a piece of artwork for business use, please contact me to discuss your options.