CUSTOM OIL PAINTING COMMISSIONS · PROCESS & STORIES

Every custom painting begins with a story.

A meaningful place. A family memory. A moment in the mountains. Graham works directly with each collector to turn that connection into a one-of-a-kind oil painting with colour, texture and presence.

Graham Watts at work in his Vancouver studio.

THE PURPOSE

More than a custom painting.

A commission is a collaboration between a collector’s lived experience and Graham’s way of seeing. The aim is not to copy a photograph. It is to understand what matters, design the artwork for the room, and create a painting that feels inseparable from the story behind it.

THE CREATIVE JOURNEY

From memory to finished painting.

Each project is managed clearly, but the heart of the process stays personal. You do not need perfect photographs or a finished concept before the first conversation.

Begin with why

We start with the place, person, animal or moment you want the painting to hold—and the feeling you want it to bring back.

Design for the wall

A wall photograph and measurements help establish scale. When useful, Graham creates a digital room preview before the canvas is chosen.

Build the composition

Personal photos can be combined with research, sketches and visual references to create a stronger image than any single photograph.

Paint with freedom

Once the direction is clear, Graham develops colour, atmosphere, texture and movement in oils while keeping you connected to the progress.

Reveal and arrival

The finished painting is revealed, prepared to hang, and personally delivered or carefully packed for insured shipping.

From personal references to a finished Whistler mountain painting.

COMMISSION STORY · WHISTLER BLACKCOMB

A memory from Spanky’s Ladder, painted into permanence.

A collector wanted more than a dramatic ski scene. He wanted a large original painting of himself descending specific alpine terrain near Spanky’s Ladder—complete with his own equipment and the rugged feeling he remembered from Whistler.

Personal photographs were only the beginning. Together, we researched the terrain through mountain references, Google Earth and ski footage, then shaped those fragments into one clear composition. The final painting held the excitement, freedom and personal history of the experience.

SELECTED PAST COMMISSIONS

Stories that became paintings.

Every project begins differently: a ski run remembered, a mountain loved, or two views chosen to make a new home feel personal.

Steep & Deep

A personalized 30 × 40 inch skiing commission built around the energy and scale of alpine terrain.

Lake Louise

A custom Canadian mountain landscape created to preserve the atmosphere of a place with lasting meaning.

North Shore & Whistler

Two commissioned landscapes designed together for collectors who wanted the mountains they loved reflected in their home.

IMPERFECT REFERENCES ARE WELCOME

Bring the memory. The image can be built together.

A phone photo, an old family picture, a rough view of the wall or simply a strong memory can be enough to begin. The first task is to identify the focal point: what must the painting preserve?

From there, Graham can combine references, change atmosphere, adjust composition and design the work around its future space. The painting is not limited by the weaknesses of one photograph.

A COLLECTOR’S EXPERIENCE

“The end results were even better than anticipated.”

“My husband and I commissioned two paintings from Graham as we love his mountain and cityscape depictions of the North Shore and Whistler. As first-time commission buyers, he seamlessly guided us through the process. Multiple houseguests have provided unsolicited comments on the high quality of his work.”

Sandy Kisilevsky
British Columbia

START WITH A CONVERSATION

What story would you like the painting to tell?

You do not need to know the exact size, have perfect photographs or arrive with every detail decided. Begin with the place, person or memory—and a conversation about what it could become.