When adding some interior decoration to a dull and solid painted wall, you have immediately brought life to the room and made it more interesting. The truth is that an original oil painting has always drawn a lot more attention than any other prints or photographs hanging on a wall. The vivid colors and the artistic detail create an instant focal point.

In many ways, the best oil painting to add to your décor would be a commission oil painting, one that has an added sentimental value. A painting of a loved one, an animal portrait, a memorable landscape or even a self portrait can capture and immortalize the subject in a commission oil painting.

In recent years the art of commission oil painting has become very popular as a unique gift idea; turning an old and faded photo to oil painting. Give you grandparents an oil painting of their wedding day as a gift for their 50th anniversary, or perhaps a custom self portrait oil painting for your parents on their silver anniversary. A beloved animal portrait could be a fabulous idea for your husband's birthday. The added value and personal significance of a custom oil painting is much greater than the numeric value, for it will create a memory that will last for years to come.

Commission oil paintings are great gifts for many other occasions such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, a Bar Mitzvah and any other time one would like to express his or her feelings. Imagine that at next year's charismas family gathering you can unveil the custom oil painting, which was converted from photo to oil painting, of the family portrait. Or perhaps offer a unique Bar Mitzvah gift for a family member; a self portrait of the birthday boy at a unique location, even though he was never actually there. This is only possible as a commission oil painting. An animal portrait of a beloved pet can be an excellent Valentine's Day or birthday gift for your guy.

When picking a commission oil painting; be it an abstract, an animal portrait, a converted old photo to oil painting or a landscape of a familiar and loved place, be sure to avoid a painting that has large obvious shapes, or that the colors are overwhelming. Always try to pick a painting that has a soothing effect, with a natural tone. Remember that a painting that is unusually large or small will have limited options to certain rooms or areas. Bear in mind that when giving a unique gift such as a commission oil painting you would like to offer the receiver the option to choose the location in which to hang the painting. Unless you are positive that you the style and taste of the gift receiver try limit the painting to natural colors, animal portraits, landscapes and still life.

Converting a photo to oil paintings has brought back the lost art of portrait paintings. In the past if one wanted a self portrait, a child portrait or a family portrait, one must stay still while the portrait is being painting. This was time consuming process and required a lot of patience, something that is not practical in the fast-paced life style the world is leading today. The process of creating a self portrait has been significantly shortened with the technology we have today. Now all that is required is a digital photograph, a few days to create the masterpiece and- viola! You have successfully transformed your photo to oil painting.

Actually, the photo to oil painting conversion process is offered at online art stores such as the popular website: www.art4all.eu and even by small galleries. The skilled artist only requires a high quality digital photo. The first step is for the artist to create a mockup, the mockup is then sent back to the client for final approval. The artist then takes the photo and "copies" the figure to the canvas, using a charcoal. The next step is to then start mixing the colors and painting. Traditionally oil paintings are done in layers each layer is thicker and oilier than the previous one. Once the artist is finished painting, it is let down to dry. Drying time can take sometimes several days, depending on the painting.

Choosing a photo to create the oil painting is simple:

?Make sure the picture is sharp and focused on the subject.

?The subject fills most of the frame – this provides plenty of details for the artist to work with, when zooming in.

?Make sure the details of the photo are clear.

There are many reasons why commission oil paintings make a perfect and unique gift: not only are they a timeless representation of life but also are a transformed medium that is always appreciated by everyone for their meaningful contents. When turning a favorite photo to oil painting you have actually captured and treasured that special moment and turned it to an original work of art. When it comes to finding people and occasions to give the commission oil paintings to, there are very few occasions this gift would not be appreciated.

At www.art4all.eu we found that the converted photo to oil paintings is made by high quality artists and that the hand made paintings result in a rich texture and vivid colors. There is simply no substitute to the human touch when picking an oil painting.