“New website offers luxury of oil portraits for a price to suit the average consumer...perfectly timed for the holidays"

(PRLEAP.COM) Now a Los Angeles company is taking advantage of this “old world” medium by providing affordable oil portraits to the consumer – and just in time for the holidays. The company launched a website one month ago, www.memoriesinoil.com, making it easier for customers to send in a photograph to have it professionally painted in oil, by hand (in absentia), along with the canvas framed, and return shipping in four to six weeks.
“There is a warmth and beauty in oil paintings that prints simply do not have,” said Memories In Oil Founder Joachim Rapp, whose company began operations in early 2005 and has already served more than a dozen customers around the United States. “Our high-quality paintings come exclusively from China, a country with a very long tradition of painting.”
Rapp harkens back to a classic image in home-for-the-holiday ambiance – a warmly textured painting of a loved one hanging over the mantle above a crackling fireplace – as he notes what a uniquely special gift these professionally rendered oil paintings make.
“These are excellent gifts for mom or your spouse, and they are great for weddings, kids, families, pets…anything goes, really,” Rapp said. Some actual examples on his website include couples, individuals, horses, and cats.
Although Rapp is quick to note that his “idea” of providing high-quality oil portraits is not unique, his well-established connections with professional Chinese artists makes the business a perfect fit for this longtime international importer. Quality control remains his top priority, so he personally checks each painting carefully following creation, as well as up close when the stateside framing process is completed.
“I even send a digital image to the customer via email, and that customer might request changes, which we accommodate,” he added. “Quality is paramount to us.”
An added incentive for the customer is Rapp’s ability to offer professional framing and shipping as part of the package
“The two main reasons why people don’t have oil paintings done so much anymore is that they don’t have time to sit in a studio and wait for the artist, and hiring a U.S.-based artist can cost thousands of dollars,” Rapp said. “We not only make it easier by working directly from a photograph, but we also complete the other details, such as professional framing, which ordinarily would be added expense and trouble for the customer. We offer this package for a price starting at $250, up to around $600 depending on the size and complexity of the painting, and this includes framing and shipping, so our price is exceptionally competitive.”
For more information on this unusual gift idea, visit www.memoriesinoil.com.