The value of a Custom Oil Portrait

The value of oil portraits goes far beyond its monetary worth. The fact that the person who appears in it is oneself or a beloved gives oil portraits an emotional value which permanently remains with the portrait.

When searching for the perfect gift for someone who has everything, the task can be rather daunting. It becomes harder with time to find original ideas in our age of commercialism.

I will illustrate this point with a personal anecdote about trying to find an anniversary present for a dear friend.

My friend already had everything anyone could possibly want. She had a wonderful husband and a sweet young boy. Her house was professionally decorated with beautiful furnishings. She owned all the electric appliances required to make one’s life simpler along with the latest kitchen gadgets.

Her walls were filled with relics and souvenirs the family had collected during their numerous trips around the world. This gave her house a personal touch and truly made her house a home.

She was probably one of the most difficult people to shop for and now I had to find a wedding anniversary present. What made things even more difficult is the fact they are a well known professional couple. After considering various options, I decided that I wanted my gift to be special and permanent, and I wanted it to have warmth and emotional value. This is how I came up with the idea to commission an artist to paint a family portrait oil painting. It wasn’t that difficult because I had many pictures of the family. While going through the photos, I noticed that I also had pictures of their son. Therefore, I decided to include him and make it a family portrait instead of a portrait of the couple.

I thought my gift was rather humble, but I felt it would please them. I was overjoyed when I found out just how much it pleased them. They honored me by making an announcement to the guests that they had received a family portrait oil painting. When we arrived at the dance hall, I noticed, as did everyone else, that they had brought the painting with them and had used it to decorate the room. They gave it a place of honor and I realized then that I had succeeded in offering them a present of great emotional value. Amongst so many other store bought presents, the commissioned family portrait really did stand out. There was no doubt in my mind that I could not have bought such a unique and treasured present in a department store.

I felt very happy with my decision to offer this present and extremely proud of my idea as I watched different people walk up to the painting to study it. You could study each character in each brush stroke. It wasn’t only a family portrait – it was a true work of art. It was original and the artist had succeeded in capturing the family perfectly. The high quality materials used, the tranquility it exuded, the style it gave the room and the warmth that the artist conveyed all contributed to the family portrait becoming a highly prized possession.

To this day, long after that anniversary, my friend still enjoys that treasured portrait hanging in the wall of her dining room. Since then, she has admitted to me just how emotionally attached she has become to that family portrait because it represents & evokes the happiness of her family life. I often wonder if she still enjoys any of the other presents she received on that anniversary as much as my gift, even though many of the presents were of much higher monetary value than this family oil portrait.