Original oil paintings: what buying a unique work really means
An original oil painting is a different category from a print or a poster. It's a unique piece, made by hand, layer after layer, on stretched canvas. Here's what that involves in practice.
Why oil on canvas?
Oil is one of the oldest and most durable techniques in painting. The pigments are bound in linseed oil, which gives them a depth and richness acrylic or watercolour don't reach in the same way. Well kept, a canvas lasts centuries: the Renaissance paintings you see in museums are oils.
How a large canvas comes together
A large painting means weeks of work: the drawing, the first layers, the reworkings, the drying, the decisions you question again. I filmed the whole process of a large format from start to finish (in French):
What a unique work is
When you buy an original painting, you buy the work itself. No other copy exists. The movement of the brush, the thickness of the paint, the relief of the surface: it's physical, and unique.
My original paintings are signed and come with a certificate of authenticity. Each one is a collector's piece in its own right.
Original or print?
For those who love an image but don't want to invest in the canvas, a fine art print is a real alternative: a high-fidelity reproduction on fine art paper, in a limited, numbered and signed edition. The colours come very close to the painting, without being the canvas itself.
Comme tu disais
Bengaluru
Ce qui croît de traversBoth make sense: the original as a centrepiece, the print to bring a work home on a more accessible budget.
How is the price of a canvas set?
It takes into account the size, the time spent, the cost of materials and the artist's track record (exhibitions, galleries, awards). Buying directly from the studio is also direct support for the practice: the money goes to the artist.
To see what an intense month of production looks like: 20 canvases in one month (video, in French).
Practical details
Dimensions are given on every product page. Orders ship on the 1st and the 15th of the month, carefully packed. For a question about a painting, write to me.