There are many types of pictures one can purchase in art and print shops around. Here we attempt to outline major differences between them, to help you decide what is right for you. We focus on oil paintings and their copies, leaving out other art techniques which are not represented on this site.

Posters - high quality printed art reproductions on fine paper. Mass produced, they require usually expensive vacuum mounting, and displaying behind glass for best protection. Sometimes are made as limited edition runs - but still in rather large volume, usually well over 1 thousand copies. Typical price range of open edition - below $100, they are the lowest priced art reproductions.

Print on Canvas - next step up from poster. It is usually similar type of ink print as posters, and also made initially on a special paper. Thin layer of ready print is lifted and separated from paper background, transferred onto canvas, and sometimes varnished for protection and more authentic look.
Therefore at a first glimpse it creates illusion of an oil painting, as threads of canvas underneath are clearly visible. However, canvas texture aside - the image is completely flat, without any brush strokes, and with close examination you will see it is a print. It is NOT oil, it is thinner, and much more fragile than oil painting, with significantly shorter life span than oil on canvas. These also (although rarely) are produced as limited runs - but typically made in very large runs of many thousand copies sold around the world. This is usually the type of picture offered as inexpensive wall decor in multi-department stores, and lower end decor shops or frame stores. Typical price for average size - from below a hundred, to couple hundreds of dollars.

Giclee - revolutionary, new invention from late nineties.
There are two main types of giclee. Commonly pronounced "zhee-clay" - an invented name for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source.
The first type of Giclee - most common and already popular, pushing prices down - refers to fine ink print on archival quality paper. The term is often used instead of Inkjet in art shops. The word "giclée", from the French language word "le gicleur" meaning "nozzle", or more specifically "gicler" meaning "to squirt, spurt, or spray. A perfect way of reproducing watercolours, and other art on paper media. It is perhaps the best way of copying watercolours, and other work on paper - but using it on canvas has severe limitations.
Sometimes ink-jet giclee image of this type is printed on a primed canvas, and sometimes covered with varnish for better look. It is a copy on canvas - but still not an oil copy. (This is what many print shops sell as "masterpiece copies on canvas")
This ink giclee looks closer to the original than poster, and is also higher priced - sometimes used for limited edition runs. Typical price is from just below $100 and up to a few hundred, for an average sized image.
While having a good detail, it is not the best way of copying oils - is still flat, not showing brush work - and it is not oil at all. Canvas texture will be clearly visible through the very thin layer of ink and varnish, and image will lack the soul of the original, and the authentic look.

Second type of Giclee is even newer, more significant technique - still not so commonly used.
It advanced from inkjet printing, to oil printing on canvas. Prints can be duplicated digitally directly from the artist's canvas, recreating smallest details of the original. Natural texture of canvas combined with thick layer of authentic oil paints, give these giclee copies the feel of original work. As the oil paint is bonded with canvas in the same way as when painted with brush, it offers the same level of durability and life-span as original oil paintings. It is also water-resistant and dust-proof, and can be kept for much longer than prints on paper and other duplicates, adding to its value.
Additionally, giclee can be finished with hand-added brush strokes, to create even more perfect effect that can be closest to the original painting. This is the most fine giclee type available today - and the next best thing to the original painting available today. Can be used for limited edition series, sometimes in low volume runs. Such giclee can be used as investment if it represents a quality painting. It will not deteriorate easily, and its value will likely go up with time.
Typical price range - from a few hundred dollars to low thousands of dollars, for average sized picture.

Art Oil Painting - be it an original image, or a fine copy of a classic painting - it is made the traditional way, using fine brushes on specially prepared canvas. Such paintings are always single and unique. Even most fine copies will have some small differences caused by human hand, different lighting, paints, conditions, etc. etc. - therefore each piece is treated as a unique original. Can be used as a master image to create copies (giclee, prints on canvas, posters, etc.) Price range depends on quality and size of painting. Typically starting from low thousands, through ten thousand or more, for a fine quality work, and high up - depending also on name and popularity of painter. Decent hand-painted copies of originals also keep very good value, and top quality copies of famous masterpieces (including sometimes faked signatures) were also done centuries ago, puzzling art historians of our times.
Original hand paintings are often used by collectors as investments, as their value goes usually up with time, sometimes drastically.

Stretching Frame v/s Decorative Frame - we offer service of free stretching, if a customer wishes to order painting already on a stretching frame. Stretching frame is a durable wooden frame, used to mount the canvas on, for proper wall displaying. After a canvas is stretched on it, this frame is not visible from outside. It is NOT the decorative frame used to hang image on the wall. It is possible to finish stretched painting in an elegant and modern way, and not use decorative frame at all.
Or, for a bigger visual impact, stretched image can be inserted into decorative frame, fitting perfectly inside. Decorative frames should be ordered after canvas is already stretched, to order a perfectly fitting size of your decorative frame.

TIP - if you plan to order a nice, decorative frame - we recommend checking several frame shops around you for synthetic poly frames. These were developed in recent years, offering really fine styles at a fraction of the cost of traditional wooden decorative frame.
These frames are very durable, and available in big variety and selection of styles. They are also much lighter, therefore much easier to hang.
However, not all frame shops offer this type of frame, as it requires different machines for assembling them.
Checking and comparing these synthetic frames with wooden ones may give you significant savings, and more choices.

More FAQ's:

How do you ship the paintings?
We recommend shipping ready painting as a rolled canvas in a protective shipping tube. This method offers the best shipping safety, and also saves you a lot on shipping cost. (Canvas stretching services are easily available in most local frame shops, etc.)
If you require, we can send your painting already stretched on a stretching frame. We can offer you a stretching frame for modest price, and stretch your canvas for free.
However, to protect it well, we will need to pack it well, ship in a thick, large box, which adds significantly to the shipping cost - making it much heavier and larger, than a small roll.

Are your paintings ready, in stock?
We may have in stock some oil giclee images, but in most cases, all oil paintings will be hand-painted specially for you. It will be individual and unique art work, done for your order.

How quickly you can fulfill an order?
In most cases, we offer 30 days turn-around time. In many cases it can be a bit quicker, but in sometimes - when an order is difficult and requires lots of detailed work - it may be just a bit longer.
We would let you know ahead, in case of expected longer wait.
In case of a portrait order, we will email you photo of ready image for acceptation. If any corrections will be requested, they may add to the processing time.

Why don't you keep more paintings in stock?
While some art galleries keep large stock of paintings and copies, their prices need to reflect large investment in stock - which can sell tomorrow, a month from now - a year - or - never! And, with our extensive offer such stock would need to be enormous! Not only so many different paintings, but also each of them in several different sizes - to offer you exactly what you need.
By working on per-order basis, we don't need to tie-down our cash flow, and are able to offer you the lowest possible prices, for the very best quality work. Keeping a huge stock of different canvasses, just to have them ready for a quick sale - would increase their prices several times.
At the same time, doing the work specially for you, we can accommodate your additional requests as to size, finishing, etc. - giving you overall best value for the best possible price.

Why are your prices so insanely low, if you claim your paintings are so good?
As mentioned on front page, we cooperate with a small group of top artists overseas - in couple of countries, including Eastern Europe. Painters and artists there are famous for their unmatched technical skills, deep knowledge of styles, and really fine, top grade art work. Thanks to still favourable for us exchange rate - what makes a reasonably decent living over there, is still rather little here, in North America, Western Europe, Japan, etc.
And, because we can give our friends-artists constant job, they can additionally lower their prices - offering you their amazingly fine services at similarly amazing, affordable prices.


There are other shops offering paintings. What's really the difference?
We had couple of customers saying, thast they found lower prices for paintings on internet, and asked how it is possible. We've seen some of these cheap paintings, as we did an extensive "homework", before presenting this offer to you.
So, be sure - you get what you are paying for. While a photo on web page showing an original looks nice, quality of your ready paint will not come even near it, and you will have an average canvas without much artistic value - kind of quality you can see in a cheap motel, some faceless, run-down office, etc. etc.
Nothing to do with museum-grade art we are offering. This is not a sales speach - we could offer this cheap painting quality too - but it is simply unacceptable to us. We would NEVER put such painting on our wall, and we offer to you only what we can accept ourselves, being very demanding professionals.
We learned ourselves, that if we are not rich - we can't afford buying the cheapest - because it usually ends in buying the same thing twice... We do have photos of such lower quality paintings, and can email you examples if needed. And we know - if you appreciate quality - you would be upset after getting such a cheap canvas. What we selected for you - is simply absolutely the best - one can find. Period.

What is the order procedure?
Very simple - You select your favourite image, and let us know whih one you wish to get. You may also email us your digital image, or ask if we have what you need in our archive. We will discuss with you details, and give you pricing. After receiving deposit, we will start the work, and contact you with a photo for approval. Once approved and paid, painting will be promptly shipped to you. See page with our policies for more deetails.

If you have further questions, please email us.

If your question can be of use to our customers, we will add it to this page.