Custom Monet Style Portrait, Hand-Painted from Your Photo

One face, one photograph, one reason to have it painted: a parent’s birthday, a child about to leave, a person no longer here. The portrait is made by hand in oil, close to the picture or lit the way Monet lit his own family.

What Monet’s portraits teach about a single figure

Camille Doncieux met Monet in 1865 and became his model. She appears in about fifty of his paintings, which makes her the longest sitter of his career. Camille Monet (1847–1879) in the Garden at Argenteuil shows her in the garden at Argenteuil, and Portrait of Père Paul is another of his portraits.

The picture to think about is Woman with a Parasol, from 1875. Monet set a low viewpoint so that Camille stands against a big sky, with the wind in her veil and a billowing white dress. Her parasol is green underneath, a colour repeated in the grass of the meadow. A portrait in that spirit lets the surroundings colour the figure, and the face stays the calmest part of the canvas.

Contemporary work like this is made in Monet’s manner, not as an original by Monet and not as a museum reproduction.

Which photograph to start from

Choose the frame in which the person is least aware of the camera. Soft light from a window or the open air shows a face far better than flash does, and the eyes should be sharp, with no sunglasses or hat brim across them. A beauty filter smooths the very features that make someone recognisable, so use the unfiltered file.

Send the picture itself, not a screenshot or a copy forwarded through a messaging app. If a second photograph has a better smile or better hands, send both and note what to take from each.

When the only photograph is old

Photograph the print flat, in daylight and out of its frame, or scan it. Add what has faded: eye colour, hair, the pattern on a collar.

Head and shoulders, or the whole figure

A head and shoulders view puts everything on the face, the eyes and the set of the mouth. A half-length or full-length view adds posture and hands, and more of the setting. Woman with a Parasol is a full figure, and the figure is nearly as much about the dress and the wind as about the face. Decide which you want before you pick the photograph, because the canvas follows its shape.

Two ways to paint the same face

In the faithful direction the skin is built from the colours of your photograph, with the clothes and background as they were. In the Monet-inspired direction the face is still modelled with care, but cool shadow and warm light sit side by side as separate touches, and the clothes and background are loosened around it. An outdoor snapshot, a window seat or a figure against sky suits that direction. A studio headshot usually suits the faithful one.

Portrait questions that come up

Will the face still look like the person?

That is the first aim in both directions. A photograph of the finished canvas is sent to you before dispatch, and corrections are possible.

Can I use a photograph taken on a phone?

Yes, if it is sharp and taken in good light. Send the file itself so that no detail is lost in eyes and hair.

Can glasses or clothes differ from the photograph?

Mention it in your request. Glasses that hide the eyes, or a jacket you would rather replace, are the usual cases.

How close should the camera be?

Close enough that the face fills a good part of the frame, but not so close that the lens bends the nose and forehead. Standing a few steps back and zooming in a little does the job.

The portrait in practice

Sizes follow the proportions of your photograph. A head and shoulders suits a modest canvas, and a full-length figure needs a larger one. The canvas ships rolled in a tube, mounted on stretcher bars ready to hang, or framed.

• Price: a portrait of one person on the smallest canvas, sent rolled, starts at $218 (30 × 40 cm, rolled canvas).
• Time at the easel: 2 to 4 weeks.
• Delivery once shipped: 5 to 7 business days.
• You can cancel your order at any time until it ships.
• Return period: 30 days.

For two people, a household or an animal, see the other subjects under custom Monet painting.

Start a portrait request