FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do you do offer a photo retouching service too?
A. No, though sometimes we have to touch up an image or remove unwanted features or backgrounds from the original you send me or from the resulting faux oil painting. See Sample 2 for an example of this where I had to really pick which part of the photo to work with.

Q. If I have a number of images of the scene I wanted converted, how do I pick the most suitable one?
A. Usually the best results are from scenes that have the best composition in terms of foreground, middle and background and very little distractions that are not relevant. If you like I will review 2 or 3 images and advise which is the best one from which to create a digital impression.

Q. Is your process fully automated?
A. No. All projects require varying levels of my own intervention to create great digital art for your own decor.

Q. Can you work with any image?
A. I will try work and convert any image, but every so often a great photo does not make for a great oil or watercolor painting. In such a case I will let you know and refund any monies paid or discuss having it printed as is in some good photo format or paper. Some pictures are just best left as photographs – though usually these are photos of things you have never seen painted – like a great helicopter photo I have with lots of sharp metal lines.

Q. Will the resulting digital image you return be flagged as AI Generated if I use it on sensitive sites like Pinterest or Etsy?
A.That depends. Please contact me to discuss – but slowly more sites (even art competitions) are accepting AI Assisted work, as long it is not completely AI Generated. After all, most art that goes through a computer at some stage is really digital mixed media.

Q. Who owns the copyright in the resulting images?
A. Your image, your copyright, even after my editing. I will not retain any rights in your images, nor require any credits for the work, nor use or display them in any way without your express written permission. If you like, I can even put your name in the Author and copyright field in the hidden header portion of all artwork nowadays. In short, references and referrals are nice but not required.

Q. If I send you a stock photo to edit (that I may or may not have paid for or licensed) can I claim ownership of the new image you generate from it?
A. Please do not send me any images you do not own or have not legally licensed. Even if they were 100% AI generated and therefore not copyrightable.

Q. I have a great set of photos that should make great paintings. Are you interested in converting them to art and selling them through your own site or gallery for a commission?
A. Sorry, at this time I only sell art from my own photos or from very close friends and family.

Q. Can I send you a photo print that is framed or from my album to scan and convert to a faux oil painting if I don’t have a digital image of it?
A. Yes, under special circumstances only. Rather put it flat in good natural light and photograph it with your cell phone or camera, and send me that image instead. I originally shot the image in Sample 3 over 50 years ago in color slide format. Somewhere along the line I had it made into a print and put it in an album. Luckily I had photographed it with my cell phone before I lost the complete album in a house fire!

Q. What resolution images can you work from?
A. As with all digital art, the better the resolution, the finer the picture – at least in most cases particularly if you are going to have it printed in a large format. Do try to submit photos that are at least 1000pixels on the short side. But interestingly enough, painters seldom work with very fine brushes, so I can create impressionistic art images from almost any resolution – even standard cheap off brand cell phones. Note that on iPhones, you have to enable Compatible Photo mode to get the best resolution, though you may want to switch that off later if you are snapping lots of opportunistic pictures instead of fine photos to save your storage needs.

Still got a question? Contact me directly. Let’s discuss. 7am to 7pm Pacific Time 7 day a week.