It always helps when you have a beautiful subject, but there is simply an artistic beauty that hand painted oils give a portrait.  We recommend formal oil portraits before your child looses his or her teeth.  This usually occurs between four and five.  There is no question that an oil portrait such as this will certainly become an heirloom that will be passed down for generations.

Twice a year I get a surge of calls from clients inquiring about my oil, watercolor and other fine art products.  They have been contacted by a “friend” who is pushing them to purchase an oil from a traveling oil artist.  I want to inform you about the “traveling oil” artists that swing through our area a couple of times per year.  They have deals too good to be true - because they are.  Make sure you compare apples to apples so you won’t get snookered.  These folks are very polished with their pitches.  They offer a very low price on the front end to get you committed.  They know that once you go through the trouble of having your child sit for the session - they have you hooked.  We offer open and honest pricing which is all inclusive of the product you select.  You will not be surprised by add-ons for “detailed” backgrounds or have to purchase expensive frames because the portrait was painted at a non-standard size.

Today, I had a new client call me and tell me about her $9.99 experience at a big box retailer that has a photography “studio” in the store.  After they took the pictures she realized that the special rate did not qualify for the background she preferred and that there were lots of hooks and catches in the pricing.  To get what she really wanted cost her $350.  Several years ago, industry statistics stated that the average client spent over $250 at one of these low end - high volume locations.  They got lots of pictures - but they lack much when it comes to quality and customer service.

I share this only to continue to help you understand how these “traveling artists” work.  You will pay more, for lesser quality, and much poorer customer service.  Before you get hooked into doing what your “friends” are doing give me a call.  By-the-way,  your “friend” is encouraging you to do it - because she is probably getting a referral credit towards her purchase.

For the over 20 years we have been in business we have built our reputation on providing tremendously creative, high quality portraits for every client - every time.