Prints vs Originals: How to Decide What to Buy

People ask me about this more than anything else. They find a piece they like on the site and are not sure whether to order the print or wait and buy the original. Here is how I think about it.

What a print actually is

When I offer a print of a painting, I am selling a high-quality reproduction on fine art paper or canvas. The image is the same. The colors are very close, especially for pieces I photograph in good light before the original sells. Prints are signed, sized to order, and ship from a fulfillment partner worldwide.

A print is not a lesser product. It is a different product. It makes sense when:

• Your budget is under $50 and you want something real on your wall
• You want a specific piece that has already sold as an original
• You are buying for a rental property or a space that gets hard wear
• You want to gift something personal without the price point of an original

What changes with an original

An original is the actual painted surface: the brushstrokes, the texture, the specific choices I made that afternoon in the studio. When I paint wet-in-wet with watercolor, the blooms that form are unrepeatable. When I build up layers in oil, the impasto in the shadows catches light differently at different times of day. None of that transfers to a print.

An original also holds value in a way a print does not. That is not the main reason to buy one, but it matters if you are thinking about a collection over time.

Originals start at $100 for smaller works and go up for large oils or detailed illustration work. They ship insured, with a certificate of authenticity, from Lagos.

The practical question

If you are choosing between a print and an original of the same piece, ask: where would you display it? High-traffic or risky spaces (a hallway, a rental, a child's room) suit prints. A room you care about, a gift for someone you are serious about, or a piece you want to keep long-term: original.

If the original is already sold, the print is the answer. I photograph every piece before it leaves the studio and keep prints available for everything in the catalog.

How to order

Prints are available on the shop page, starting under $50. Originals are listed under the Originals filter. If you want a piece I have not listed, commissions are open: reach out through the contact page and we can talk through what you have in mind.