Donna, Paint My Photo!
Hand painted oil paintings of your photos
Commissions Now Open
Grand Opening Offer: save $150 (first 25 only)
Original hand painted oil painting: $300 total (shipping included)
Somewhere on your phone there's a photo you've saved that you keep coming back to.
Not the good ones from the trip everybody already saw. Not the professional shots. The other one. Grandma’s porch on a summer morning. The dog napping in the sun. Your breakfast from that little place you stopped that weekend you took a drive.
You scroll past it and you stop. Every time.
Then you keep scrolling, because what else is there to do with a photo?
Print it, and it looks like every other frame on the wall. Leave it where it is, buried under four thousand others, until the phone dies or you upgrade and it disappears into a backup nobody opens again.
None of that is what the photo you keep looking at deserves.
So here's what I'm doing instead. Send it to me and I'll paint it. Oil on canvas, from your photograph, for $300. I'm making 100 of these before Christmas, and I'm opening the first 25 today.
The Artist, Donna Fox
I spent 26 years as a marketer, most of it as a CMO, telling other people's stories for a living. I was good at it, and I'm done with it. I paint most days now, and this year it became the thing I do full time instead of the hobby I do on the side.
I'm not a gallery-represented painter with three decades of collectors behind me. I'm a working artist who paints constantly, who studies under several other artists, who runs the Las Vegas Urban Sketchers chapter, and who has spent the last several years getting good enough at this that I trust myself with your photograph.
The gallery below is the actual proof of what I can do. Have a look at it and see for yourself.
You Already Know the Painting
This is for you if there's a photo you already know, the second you read this. If you had to think for more than a few seconds, this probably isn't the gift.
Most of these get bought for somebody else, not the person taking the picture. Paintings are a perfect gift for a family member that’s tough to buy for. The friend who has everything but still talks about a trip you took together nine years ago.
You can't hand somebody a better memory than the one they already love. You can hand them that exact memory, made special through the artist’s lens, bringing them joy every day.
This is not for portraits. If the whole point of the photo is a face rendered accurately, I'm the wrong painter, and I'd rather say so now than take your $300 and disappoint you in December. Portraits are a technical subject, and I want to paint emotions.
People can be in the photo. Kids, dogs, a whole table at Thanksgiving. I paint them the way I paint the porch railing and the light, as part of the scene, not as the subject.
The Commission Process
First, you send me the photo and and tell me what you love about the photo, and a little about what the memory means to you.
Don't rush that part. It's the only conversation we have before I start painting, and it tells me what to protect and what I'm free to change.
Within 48 hours you’ll hear from me. Almost always it's a yes. Sometimes it's a question, because the file's too small or the story's too thin and I need more before I commit your $300 to it.
Then I paint it, let it dry, varnish it with a protective coating and send it to you, all before the holidays.
$300 gets you:
an original painting,
9×12 or 12×12 (artist choice)
certificate of authenticity
mixed media or oil on canvas, gallery wrapped
shipping in the continental U.S.
It does not get you a preview before it's finished or revisions. You're not paying for accuracy, but an artist’s interpretation of the scene.
You keep the painting outright, to hang, sell, or leave to your kids. I keep the copyright, which means I can photograph it, post it, and sell prints of it later. Say so before you order if that's a problem.
$300 is the grand opening price, and it will never come back once this batch is gone.
I'm painting 100 of these before the holidays, released in four batches of 25, and the price goes up every batch. I get better at this every painting, and after four batches my price will reflect typical retail pricing for my skills.
Batch Date Opens Price
One Now $300
Two September $350
Three October $400
Four November $450
I'm telling you this upfront instead of letting you find out later, because I'd rather you know exactly what my plan is. If you're reading this while batch one is still open, this is the cheapest one of these will ever be!
Frequently Asked Questions
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This is your biggest risk when ordering a custom commission, and I get it. While I do my best in every artwork, you may have a different idea of what it will look like when it’s done. This is why I have many photos in my gallery to show you the kind of work I do and artistic choices that I make. You can rest assured the work will be in line with what’s in the gallery.
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Only with permission from whoever did. I'm painting it and putting the process on camera, so it needs to be yours to hand over.
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Photos might be too old and grainy to give me enough details to paint, or the emotional connection to the image isn’t there in your story. I want to paint images you have a connection with so you fully enjoy your custom artwork.
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I have just opened my art business, and I want to start amassing some happy customers and proof of my work quality. I intend to raise the price to market levels as my first batch of 100 commissions sells out.
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Larger works are available on request. Prices begin at $3 per square inch. Inquire for specifics.
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The holiday ordering window closes on November 15th. After November 15th, I’ll take the order but may not be able to ship in time for the holidays.
The Perfect Give for the Friend Who Has Everything
One of the things I love most about a custom oil painting is the level of personalization. You know every stroke in the painting was laid with love. As the artist, I am trying to capture the feelings of that moment so you, or your loved ones, can feel it with every glance.
There is a reason, “Please paint my photo, Donna” has become one of the my friends’ favorite asks (and they keep asking!)— finally, I’m able to say Yes.
Donna