Everything worth knowing before you buy a painting from me: how to check that it is an original, how payment works, what shipping costs and how long it takes. For now I ship within the European Union and to Monaco. If your question is not answered here, write to [email protected] and I will reply personally.
How to buy a painting
1) Open a painting in Paintings. 2) In the buy block, choose the country the painting is going to. The total appears straight away: the painting plus UPS shipping. 3) Press “Buy”. Stripe's checkout opens, where you enter the delivery address and pay.
After payment you receive an order confirmation by email, and I send the painting within 5 working days.
Would you rather talk first? Write to me by email or on Instagram, or come and see the painting in Porto (how it works).
Original or print: how to tell
Every painting on this site is a one-of-a-kind original, painted by hand. I do not sell reproductions, so the work you buy exists in a single copy.
You can check this yourself. Look at a canvas from the side, in light falling across it: a painting shows the relief of the paint and separate brushstrokes, while a print is usually flat. On paper, ink lines and watercolour have uneven edges and soft pools of pigment, and under a magnifying glass there is none of the regular dot pattern that printing leaves.
An original costs more than a print because it cannot be repeated: it is a single piece of handwork and the time that went into it.
Payment
You pay on Stripe's checkout page by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Prices are in euros. Your card details are entered on Stripe's side and never reach me (more on privacy).
The checkout asks for a phone number. I use it only to contact you about delivery.
The checkout is tied to the country you chose on the painting's page. To ship to a different country, go back and choose it there.
While you are at the checkout, the painting is reserved for you for up to 35 minutes. If the payment is not completed, it becomes available again.
If you collect the painting in Porto, you can pay on the site or in cash (how it works). By law, cash is accepted only for amounts under €3,000 (terms of sale).
Shipping cost within the EU
Shipping is not included in the price of the painting. It depends on the size of the work and on the destination. You see the exact amount on the painting's page as soon as you choose your country, before you pay.
| Format | Portugal (mainland) | Other EU countries and Monaco | Cyprus and Malta | Madeira |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small canvas; A2 sheet in a tube | €20 | €30 | €60 | €55 |
| Medium canvas, up to 40×50 cm or Ø45 cm | €25 | €35 | €70 | €60 |
| Large canvas, up to 60×80 cm | €40 | €55 | €115 | €75 |
| Extra large: 100×80 cm, Ø90 cm | €70 | €95 | €175 | €110 |
Parcels to Cyprus, Malta and Madeira travel by air, which is why they cost more.
Which format is your painting? Small canvas: Beetle, Hyphantria cunea, Pink Moth. A2 sheet in a tube: Chrysanthemum, Protea, Cactus. Medium: Silkworm Moth, Home, Thoughts, White Peacock, Home Is Where We Are Together, A Quiet Place. Large: Warm Light, Wildflowers, Keeper of Silence, Encounter. Extra large: Treasures, Flowers of Strength.
What you pay in total
The total is the price of the painting plus shipping to your country. Paintings on the site currently cost from €120 to €1,600. For example, Protea (€250) sent to Germany: €250 + €30 shipping = €280.
You see this total on the painting's page and again at the checkout, before you confirm. Within the EU there are no customs duties to pay on delivery. The exception is the territories under Where I ship that I ask you to write to me about before paying.
Collecting in Porto and paying in cash? Then you pay only the price of the painting. The checkout on the site always adds UPS shipping, so to pay online and collect in person, write to me first (details).
Where I ship
For now, only within the European Union and to Monaco: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, plus Monaco.
Madeira has its own line in the country list, “Portugal — Madeira”: the address must be on Madeira or Porto Santo. UPS only flies there, hence the separate price.
The Azores, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, the French outermost regions and the Åland Islands: please write to me before paying.
Do you live outside the EU? Write to me at [email protected].
Delivery times
I send a ready painting within 5 working days of payment. UPS then usually takes 2–5 working days within the EU. For a commissioned work, we agree the dispatch date together.
If you need the painting by a particular day, check the Christmas date or write to me before paying.
Christmas 2026: pay by 27 November
To receive a painting by Christmas anywhere in the EU, pay by 27 November 2026.
How the date is worked out: up to 5 working days for me to send the painting, the UPS transit time and about 10 extra days for the pre-Christmas rush, so that the parcel arrives by 23 December. This applies to ready works.
Too late for that? In Porto you can still collect a painting by appointment (how).
Tracking
Every parcel goes by UPS with a tracking number. I email it to you as soon as the painting is on its way, so you can follow the delivery on the UPS website.
How paintings are packed
Watercolours on A2 sheets travel rolled in a tube. A painting on a stretcher cannot be rolled or folded, so I wrap it in film and pack it in a cardboard box, large and round ones included.
Packaging is already included in the shipping price.
If a painting arrives damaged
If the painting arrives damaged, I refund you in full, shipping included. If you prefer, I can restore the work or reduce the price instead. The choice is yours.
What to do: photograph the packaging and the painting, keep the packaging and write to me at [email protected], ideally within 48 hours. That is a request; it does not limit your rights.
The risk of damage in transit is mine until the painting is delivered to you. On top of that, every work comes with the 3-year legal guarantee of conformity.
Returns: 14 days
If you bought online, you have 14 days from receiving the painting to change your mind, without giving a reason. Return shipping is at your cost. Full conditions and the model form are on the Right of withdrawal page.
Commissioned works made to your specifications, such as portraits from your photos, have no right of withdrawal (details).
Sending a painting as a gift
I can send the painting straight to the person you are giving it to, at another address in the EU or Monaco (exceptions: Where I ship). Enter the recipient's address at the checkout and email me the text of your note: I will put it in the parcel. There is no price inside.
For ideas, see Gifts. For Christmas, check the pay-by date.
Shipping later or to a new address
If the recipient is moving or away, I can keep the painting and send it once there is an address. By law, delivery is due within 30 days of purchase unless we agree otherwise, so let me know in advance if you need longer.
Viewing and collecting in Porto
You can see a painting in person or collect your order at Rua Alcaide de Faria, 193, 4100-035 Porto, by appointment only. Write to me and we will arrange a time.
If you pay in cash on collection (amounts under €3,000), there is no shipping to pay. The checkout on the site always adds UPS shipping to the country you choose, so if you would like to pay online and collect in Porto, write to me before paying and we will agree the details. If you paid online and collect in Porto, your 14 days to change your mind start on the day you collect.
Customs
Within the EU there are no customs duties. The painting travels from Portugal inside the single market, and the amount at the checkout, painting plus shipping, is all you pay. This does not cover the territories under Where I ship that need a message before paying: for those, write to me first.
I do not ship outside the EU yet. If you live in another country, write to me at [email protected].
Russia and Belarus
EU sanctions prohibit sending works of art worth more than €300 to Russia and Belarus. Besides, I currently ship only within the EU, so there is no delivery to either country.
How to know the work is mine
Here you buy directly from me, the artist, with no gallery or marketplace in between. Each painting has its own page with photos and a description. Where the page says the work is signed, the signature is on the painting itself.
You can see a painting in person in Porto before buying (how), and my details as the seller are published in the Legal notice. If you have a question about a particular work, write to me before paying.
Who you are buying from
Olesia Shelkovenko, self-employed (trabalhadora independente), NIF 314503919. Rua Alcaide de Faria, 193, 4100-035 Porto, Portugal. [email protected], +351 963 457 211. Full details: Legal notice and Terms of sale.
Questions
How do I buy a painting on this site?
On the painting's page, choose your country, check the total (painting plus shipping) and press “Buy”. You pay on Stripe's checkout by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
How much does shipping cost?
It depends on the size of the work and the country, packaging included: from €20 within mainland Portugal, from €30 to other EU countries and Monaco, from €55 to Madeira and from €60 to Cyprus and Malta. The exact amount appears on the painting's page before you pay.
Which countries do you ship to?
For now, the 27 EU countries and Monaco. For the Azores, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, the French outermost regions and the Åland Islands, write to me before paying. For other countries, write to [email protected].
How long does delivery take?
I send a ready painting within 5 working days of payment, and UPS usually delivers within the EU in 2–5 working days. You receive the tracking number by email.
When should I pay to receive a painting by Christmas?
Pay by 27 November 2026 to receive a ready painting by Christmas anywhere in the EU.
Is it an original or a print?
An original. Every work on the site is painted by hand and exists in a single copy; I do not sell reproductions.
What happens if the painting arrives damaged?
Photograph the packaging and the painting and write to me. I refund you in full, shipping included, or, if you prefer, restore the work or reduce the price.
Can you send the painting straight to the person I am giving it to?
Yes, to an address in the EU or Monaco, with your note and no price inside. If the recipient lives in one of the territories I ask you to write about first (see “Where I ship”), message me before paying. I can also hold the painting until the recipient has a new address.
Updated 13 October 2026.