Turn your moment into a painting…
Elysia Gilman creates bespoke oil paintings of people and meaningful moments, designed to be treasured for years to come. Each piece begins from reference photographs and conversation with the client, allowing her to build a painting that reflects both the visual moment and the feeling behind it. Every work is developed individually, resulting in a one-of-a-kind painting designed to feel personal, expressive and enduring.
Clients often commission Elysia to mark important moments in their lives – weddings, anniversaries, family milestones, or portraits of loved ones. Each painting is created with the intention of becoming something to be treasured for generations.
Below you will find a selection of previous commissions and client feedback. If you are interested in commissioning a painting, Elysia would be happy to discuss your ideas and guide you through the process of creating something truly special.
CONTACT ELYSIA
Oil on board, 16″ x 20″, 2024
“Working with Elysia to commission a portrait is a wonderful experience! I have commissioned two portraits from her, and both instances were fantastic. From the beginning of ideas to receiving the finished painting, Elysia is fully transparent and with you every step of the way. She communicates clearly and regularly, so you are informed about every step of the process. She is kind and lovely to work with, and takes great care to ensure your happiness as a client. I cannot recommend Elysia enough!”
-Private Customer
Oil on board, 16″ x 20″, 2024
“We commissioned Elysia to create a portrait of my mum and I – a photo of our last time in Greece together. I have experienced nothing but kindness from Elysia throughout this commission and I’ll never be able to thank her enough. She has been consistently helpful, accommodating and attentive from start to finish. It really has been a pleasure to work with her. She captured the moment so beautifully; the painting has become very precious to the whole family.”
-Grace and Andy
Oil on board, 24″ x 30″, 2023
“Elysia spent a day with us, getting to know us and taking preparatory photographs.
We are stunned and delighted with the skills that Elysia has shown in the quality of the completed portrait. She has drawn on her knowledge of us as individuals, with our own feelings of ourselves as a loving family, and combined them in detail and with extraordinary care. Thank you.”
-Richard Cubie
Oil on board, 16″ x 20″, 2023
“I also commissioned this portrait of Tony and Marie, after they had met Elysia and had been informally photographed by her. We were all delighted with the result and agreed that Elysia had managed to capture a true portrait of them.”
-Richard Cubie
Oil on board, 21.0 cm x 29.7 cm, 2023
“I recently commissioned a painting of my late grandfather after seeing other pieces of artwork on Elysia’s social media platforms. She recommended a size for the painting to encapsulate the image in the best possible light. We are all thrilled with the final result.
The process was effortless, Elysia is a dream to work with and I would highly recommend her to anyone!”
-Private Customer
Oil on board, 14″ x 18″, 2022
“Elysia is a dream to work with. She is clear and upfront with all of her pricing and timeframes. She kept us up to date with progress and pictures. She is also very sensitive to privacy and obtained my permission before posting anything. This commission was for my mother who got married late in life and she was thrilled. It hangs in her living room and I always have a smile when I visit and see it. I would absolutely work with her again because she is an amazing artist and she is a good business person too.”
-Private Customer
Oil on board, 20″ x 24″, 2022
“I commissioned a painting of my children, and working with Elysia was fantastic! She was professional, very easy to work with, responded quickly, and kept me informed throughout the entire process. Her work is incredible, and I am forever thankful I now have a beautiful portrait in my home that captures a lovely moment in time.”
-Private Customer
Oil on board, 16″ x 20″, 2022
“I took some time to find someone whose work I really liked, with the potential to realize a portrait that would give an interpretation of the person as she sees them. I have no doubt that I found the right person!
I am completely thrilled with the painting Elysia has finished, and she has created a portrait with the image of how I see myself. No photograph could do that!
From day one, Elysia was professional and informative in her approach. She patiently gave plenty of time to find and take the right range of photographs that would enable her to start her work. She made informed and helpful suggestions for alterations, or changes in emphasis and listened carefully to the choices I made, and the detail of my aspirations for the finished article. And, at each stage, she contacted me to show me the work and discuss the stage that she was at.
My family are delighted with the finished portrait and agree that Elysia has “captured” the essence of whom I am. Finally, the best part of this was to meet Elysia herself and confirm our impression of a thoroughly nice and decent person, and talented professional too. Thank you.”
-Richard Cubie
Oil on board, 20″ x 20″, 2022
“I searched high and low for months trying to find the right artist to help me bring a photo to life as a gift for my friend and his family. Somehow Elysia from North Wales appeared in my social media feed one day (I live in Portland, OR USA), and I reached out.
I spoke with her for a few weeks about the photograph, my vision, her thoughts and capabilities. I determined that she was not only incredibly passionate about her work, but honest and the right artist for this project.
Throughout the process she sent me updates and images and in the end, she not only shared the masterpiece but, also sent me a really touching video that showed her progress from start to finish.
I would recommend her to anyone looking for something special and, the best part is how much my friend loved it!”
-Private Customer
Oil on board, 21.0 cm x 29.7 cm, 2021
“We were thrilled to celebrate our 29th anniversary with such a beautiful piece. A photo that was losing its color after many years has now been recreated by this talented artist. Elysia encapsulated that moment perfectly.”
-Private Customer
Oil on board, 21.0 cm x 29.7 cm, 2021
“Having never commissioned a painting before, I wasn’t sure of the process or what to expect. From my initial contact with Elysia, I was comfortable from the beginning. Elysia was open and honest from the get go about timescales and costings and, when she started my painting, she gave me updates throughout to make sure I was happy or if I felt any changes were needed. I couldn’t be happier with the finished painting – Thank you, Elysia!”
– Private Customer
“Elysia’s work initially caught our eye when we saw one of her first paintings of the Savoy Hotel, and we loved it! We have since commissioned three paintings which hang proudly in our house. Elysia is an absolute talent. She’s such a pleasure and so brilliant to deal with, and we are so, so pleased with our paintings! They will be with us forever, thank you!”
– Private Customer
“Elysia is an exceptionally gifted young artist. I gave her a photograph and she gave me a memory. Her attention to detail is outstanding: the painting was everything I hoped it would be and more. I cannot recommend her work highly enough.”
– T.James
“Elysia has managed to exactly capture my wife’s likeness from a photo and portray her smiling face just as it is. Somehow, the portrait is a living thing, and has so much more presence than a photo. The family are delighted, it makes me smile each time I see it, and I have no doubt that the portrait will be a family heirloom. The hardest thing was choosing which photo to use as a basis for the portrait, but Elysia gave good advice in that respect. The commissioning process was very straightforward; the painting was not rushed, and I was given the opportunity to review it after completion. But I did not need to suggest any amendments – it was spot on!”
– D.Cameron
“Elysia completed a fabulous oil painting of my son’s favourite cricketer, Ollie Pope. I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered such a talented artist who produced wonderful pieces of sports artwork! Elysia was so lovely to work with and kept us regularly updated throughout the entire process. We were over the moon with the end result and my son couldn’t have been more pleased! I would highly recommend Elysia, particularly for any parents with sports-mad children!”
– Private Customer
“Commissioning a painting from Elysia is a pleasure from start to finish; she is a consummate professional. She listens carefully to the brief, re-states it to check that she has understood your requirements and communicates with you through the early development stages and is happy to make tweaks should you require them.
The result is highly professional, personal and exactly what you were hoping for. There are many adults who could learn a lot from her work ethic, excellent communication skills and ability to work to a deadline – when these are combined with her unquestionable natural talent, you can guarantee that you will be purchasing an outstanding piece of art.
Thank you so much Elysia for undertaking two commissions from us to date – I hope that there will be more in the future and am sure that you have a successful career ahead of you.”
– Private Customer
“I am absolutely overjoyed with Elysia’s work. Not only was she able to get an incredible likeness working entirely from photographs, but she really managed to capture the personality and character of my dad.
I love how it is real and lifelike and yet still retains a painterly quality. You can tell Elysia enjoyed the process of mixing up skin tones and blending colour in a loose way, but she has still retained the accuracy, detail and technical skill in order for it to be such a terrific portrait and on such a large scale.”
– S.James