"It's such a work of art and I love it so much. Thank you Monica for taking such a variety of superb photos of our family. There is nothing you missed, and nothing that could have been done better." Paul Smith, Huntington Beach, CA
I already had the good fortune of having a wonderful portrait of my daughter done by Alison. She really captured her essence and the portrait itself looks like it was drawn with such love. If you are considering having your portrait done, I highly recommend Portraitheaven.com. The more I look at this wonderful portrait, the more I love it. Karen Silaho, Little Rock, AR
Dear Monica, the painting is brilliant I can't stop looking at the eyes! My husband will be thrilled and I'm so excited at the prospect of giving it to him. Thanks again for doing the painting so promptly. Maggie D., Leeds, UK
As a Christmas gift for my son, I wanted to give him a portrait of his mother. His mother had passed away when he was just a small boy. I searched many local, and also many internet portrait makers. I found portraitsheaven.com. At first I was a little hesitant since this was an order over the internet. I contacted them and believe me that was the best move I ever made. The portrait Monica did for me was fantastic, the colors were great, the picture was clear, it was just so beautiful. When I presented my son with the portrait, there was not a dry eye in the house. This portrait is not only beautiful but it is a treasure for our family. Believe me, you could search all over but you will never find the quality and workmanship with portraitsheaven.com portraits. Brad Dolan, Ontario, Canada
When the portrait arrived in the mail, it far exceeded all expectations. It was hard to believe this was actually a painting! We have our painting beautifully framed on our living room wall in which the compliments are overwhelming. The portrait you did for us will be treasured by our family for years to come! Anri Maie, Bordeaux, France
Thank you so much for such a wonderful portait! Alison accomidated my urgent request to have the portait done and shipped to me in time to propose to my boyfriend for his birthday. It suprised me to see how professional is, and the portait was done very quickly and turned out better than i ever could have imagined. The portait turned out excellent, and both me and my boyfriend love the portait. Thank you so much for making such a perfect present for me. I will highly recommend Portraitheaven.com to anyone who is looking for a realistic, amazing looking painting. Thank you! Valerie P., Saint Louis, MO
How do I order a portrait?
State your preferences for the portrait and upload photo files or post us your photograph(s). A deposit of 50% is required at this stage. Than we will send you an order confirmation. Before ordering a portrait, please ensure you have read the ordering information and pricing pages. Portraits are made by our team – portrait artists with more than 25 years experience, specializing in paintings of people, pets and landscape.
Sending photograph(s)
You can upload your photograph(s) to us using our Online Order Form or send a digital image as an email file attachment. If sending digital images send them at the highest resolution. You can either send your photograph(s) by post and once received we will email you the same day. You can either use a digital camera, a scanner or if you have a webcam you can take a photograph and then save it onto your hard drive.
Send as many photographs as you can and highlight things as your favorite pose, background to be used, etc... It is important they are in focus and clear, taken in natural. Check out Photography Tips for more information on how to take good photographs. The better the reference photo, the better the portrait result. All photos mailed are returned back to you unharmed with your finished portrait.
What medium do you use?
We work in a variety of mediums. Our offerings are of the highest quality oil, pastel, acrylic, charcoal, pencil and watercolor drawings and paintings from favorite, old and recent photographs. Try searching the internet - you will not find many portrait artists that use oils - especially on canvas. Oil paints are the most difficult medium to use. Below are a few descriptions to help you understand the differences among mediums and help you decide:
Oil: A traditional medium that produces very glossy, vibrant colors.
Pastel: A delicate medium that allows for the layering and soft blending of colors. Portraits created with pastels must be framed behind glass as soon as you receive them.
Acrylic: A durable, water-based medium that produces a similar effect to oils but dries quicker, thereby allowing for shorter completion times.
Charcoal: A classic medium that creates an elegant and dramatic effect in shades of grey. Charcoal portraits must also be framed behind glass as soon as you receive them.
Pencil: scary photo-realistic detail with a sharp pencil
Watercolor: Excellent for conveying high detail and beautiful, rich transparent color.
Your finished portrait is then sprayed with a clear, fine-mist fixative to help ensure its long life and protection.
What portrait sizes do you offer?
The price list is based on the sizes we have found to be most popular and is by no means unchangeable. If you have a particular size in mind or are looking for something different, we can easily custom draw a certain size for you. If you are not sure what size you need for your portrait, please contact us and we can make some suggestions.
How much will a Portrait cost?
The cost of a Portrait depends on the size, number of figures and medium selected. Please see the Pricing page for more details. Including a background and/or extra objects will reflect on the final cost. One of the main goals of Portraitheaven.com is to make painted portraits affordable for as many people as we can.
How long will it take to draw the portrait?
Some portraits take as little as one week to finish. Others, depending on complexity and size, may take a couple of weeks. The artist usually can draw your portrait in one week. The timescale involved for the completion of your portrait or drawing will depend on the size of picture, medium used, and number of subjects to be included.
How long will delivery take?
You will receive your portrait in 5-7 days in the USA and UK and within a week in the other countries worldwide. We have distribution centers in USA and in UK (for European based clients). At Christmas time please add three more days. We prefer to ship Priority Mail within the US and within the UK portraits are sent using Royal Mails Special Delivery service. DHL and UPS are also used; services are secure and reliable with all parcels electronically tracked. We will email you to let you know when it was posted.
Are there any other charges (i.e.) delivery, shipping etc?
Delivery of your portrait is free worldwide. There are no shipping or delivery charges to pay; you only pay the amount that is on our website. Contact us for larger paintings and framed portraits (rolled portraits are delivered free). We strive to accommodate any delivery request and we will always notify you of cost-effective options.
How do you accept payment?
All payment processing is done through Pay pal, or by 2Checkout. If you do not have an account with Pay Pal you will be directed to register one if you wish. Your portrait can be paid online using your debit or credit card. For more information, you can look at the Privacy and Security pages. After placing your order Paypal or 2checkout.com will send you confirmation of your order. We do not take personal checks, money orders, or cashiers checks (bank checks). Because drawing a portrait is a large commitment on our artists’ part, we ask a 50% deposit to ensure the sincerity of the request, and the balance due when we send you a digital photograph of the portrait.
Can you draw/paint a portrait from separate photographs?
Yes, we can draw or paint you a portrait from separate photographs. The artist often combines pictures where, for example, figures may not be clear in one photograph but fine in another. It is helpful to put notes on the Order form explaining which your favorites are and why. Indicate which photograph best represents each object.
What happens to the photos that I send to you?
The photographs that you send to us are returned to you in exactly the same condition as we received them. We take great care of all photographs that are sent to us.
Packaging
Your portrait is carefully rolled up and packaged in a postal tube. We use large tubes to avoid creasing of the canvas. Your portrait is covered by acid free tissue paper, and then placed inside a heavyweight polyethylene bag for extra protection. A delivery note will be attached to the parcel.
Do you frame your portraits?
We don't frame our portraits. We leave that up to the customer. We believe it is a personal thing choosing a frame to match a portrait, there is the color and width of the frame to consider and its also cheaper for the customer to purchase the frame from where they live. If we frame our portraits there would be an extra cost for the frame and the postage and shipping charges.
Satisfaction Guarantee
Our artists put 100% into every portrait that they do for customers and check them over and over again to make sure that they are accurate to the photograph and are well finished. When your portrait is finished you will be emailed a final scan of it. While we stand by the absolute quality of our work we offer money back on every portrait we make. If you are not satisfied and return the portrait safely wrapped and undamaged within 7 days we can issue 80% refund. Because of the administrative and shipping charges we will keep 20% of the order amount to cover them.
Displaying your portrait on our Website
Occasionally, we display portraits that we have done for customers on our website and this is purely to show other people the quality of the artists work. If you find your portrait on our website and this concerns you please tell us and we will take it down immediately.
Care of a pastel/oil/charcoal portrait
When you receive and unpack a pastel/oil/charcoal portrait please be careful not to touch the surface as we spray all of our portraits with a fixative and this only adherer's the pastel/oil/charcoal to the paper. A portrait will smudge if it is heavily touched.
Is it possible to have a more detailed or complex background for my painting?
A full background is available at an extra charge depending on the size of your portrait. This can be your garden, your favorite walking or resting place, or anything else. Please ensure the background reference photograph is clear and in focus. There is an extra charge depending on the size and medium used for it.
Can I buy a Gift Certificate?
Sure! Use the order form, select Gift Certificate! We’ll send you a beautiful designed certificate to your email with a special code that will let your friends order any portrait that they like. These are especially popular for retirement gifts, Christmas gifts, and Anniversaries.
However if your Portrait is for a present and surprise is essential a personal web page will be created just for you.
If you cannot find the information you require in the questions and answers above, please contact us.
