Create Works of Art With Your Cherished Photographs

Do you have some cherished photos stored on your smartphone or laptop? Maybe you have old photographs carefully tucked into albums you keep on a shelf.

You can scroll through your gallery or browse through the photo albums, but have you ever considered displaying your favorite images? Sure, you can grab a few frames, print out the photos, and hang them on your walls—but what if there was something cooler you could do to showcase them.

While there’s nothing wrong with the more classic approach, you can also turn your cherished photos into painted masterpieces to hang in your home. Imagine, seeing your favorite photos as paintings that rival the masters like DaVinci’s Mona Lisa.

How to Turn Your Favorite Photos into Stunning Paintings

You don’t have to be a great artist to turn photos into painted masterpieces. Even if you have absolutely zero artistic talent, you can still have a masterpiece created from a photograph.

How can someone without any artistic skill create a great work of art? Thankfully, you have a few options.

Use an Online App

Yep, there’s an app for this—there’s an app for almost everything, and this includes turning photos into great paintings.

You even have options when it comes to the type of app. Some produce more traditional oil paintings and others function similarly to a paint-by-numbers kit.

Editing with Photoshop

Photoshop is a nifty tool, and with a few quick adjustments, you can turn a so-so photo into a professional-looking portrait—and guess what! This same app can also turn photos into paintings. You can create a watercolor or oil painting from any photo. So, gather your favorite landscapes and pictures of friends and family and get ready to become a master artist.

Using Photoshop, or any other similar app, is a breeze; the intuitive app guides you through each of the steps. How it works is simple, and there’s no need to take a few beginning painting classes, as the app’s filters take care of everything for you.

A good tip for first-time users is to get some practice with stock photos. This way, when it’s time to start on your photos the process will go a little more smoothly.

Ready to get started? Here are the simple steps for creating watercolor paintings from your cherished photographs.

Open your photo in the app. The steps are simple and the app will give you plenty of guidance.
Next, follow the instructions for replicating the photo’s background layer. Don’t worry, the original photo will still be there. You’ll end up with a painting and your original photo.
Go to the filter settings and select the watercolor option. Apply the filter to the copy of the photo’s background.
Play around with the sliders to get the perfect effect. You can adjust shadow, light intensity, texture, and brushstroke detail to fit your preferences.
Apply the filter and repeat the process if the photo also includes people or pets.
Finally, save the watercolor painting and print. If your home printer isn’t functioning, you can have the painting printed at most drug stores. However, if you want a larger image size, similar to a work of art, you may need to use professional printing services.

Do you prefer oil paintings to watercolors? No problem, the same apps can also create stunning oil paintings you’ll want to hang on your walls. The steps are basically the same for both mediums, with only a few minor changes.

Here are the simple steps to create oil paintings using your favorite photographs.

Open your photo in the app and follow the steps to duplicate the background layer.
Select the oil paint filter and apply it to the recreated background layer.
Now play around with the brush sliders. You can adjust the stylization to control the smoothness of the brushstrokes. You’ll also find sliders for stroke length, paint thickness, and bristle detail.
This next step lets you play with the lighting. You can adjust the light’s angle as it hits the painting and how much light is reflected.

Finally, apply the filter and choose how you want your new painting is printed. For maximum effect, it’s often best to use a professional printing service. These apps also have filters to give your photos a pop art effect and much more.

The Best Way to Turn Cherished Photos into Painted Works of Art

Apps like Photoshop work great, but they also have a few downsides. Remember, you’re still printing out the painting, and this means it’s basically a photo with a new look. Think of it as a photo of a painting. The artwork will still look amazing hanging on your walls, but there’s a better way.

While playing with filters is fun, you don’t always get the desired results. Thankfully, you can turn to the professionals, as there are some services out there that will create paintings from your cherished photographs for you. Oh, and don’t forget about the printing process—you’ll still be able to tell that your photo isn’t a real painting.

So, how do these services work? The process is simple, especially since you’re not doing any of the work.

You start by selecting the photo you want to turn into a painting. You’ll also choose the painting size. You can go with a smaller piece of art, perfect for display on a desk or side table, or you can go big and grand and go with portrait size.
After supplying the painting services with the photograph, the next part of the process is working out the details. Do you want an oil-based painting or a stunning watercolor? What about any special effects?

After making your choices, all that’s left for you to do is wait for the painting to arrive. Once your order is placed, your custom piece of art will be created by a skilled and experienced professional artist. Once it’s in hand, all you have to do is find the perfect frame and place to proudly display your new work of art.

Turn Any Photo Into a Work of Art

Turning your favorite photos into paintings is a great way to display your cherished memories, and they also make a great gift for friends and loved ones.

You can give them a gift that brings back fond memories that is also one-of-a-kind, making it perfect whether you’re giving them out for a birthday, holiday, or any other special occasion.