Rui Carruco · Lisbon studio
Painting commissions
A painting can begin with a person, a place or a memory. If you have an idea you would like me to interpret through my painting, I would be delighted to hear from you.
A painting with a story of your own
A commissioned painting brings your idea into conversation with the artist’s visual language: figuration and abstraction, geometry, colour and texture. A landscape, a family relationship or a personal memory can be the starting point.
Commissions and portraits
A family memory
Colors of an Eternal Day
This painting was commissioned by grandparents who wanted their granddaughter to be portrayed playing on a beach with two boys. Explore Colors of an Eternal Day and look more closely at its composition.
A family, an interpretation
Where Love Finds Its Home
This painting was commissioned by a family with two children. We agreed on the colour palette and which family members to include beforehand. The figures were conceived as symbolic representations of the family rather than literal likenesses.
The atmosphere, composition and clothing were left to my interpretation, giving me the creative freedom to develop the painting from those shared starting points.
A commission can begin this way: with a few elements that matter to the people commissioning it, and room for the artist’s interpretation.
Explore Where Love Finds Its Home and look more closely at its composition.
Portrait and personal tribute
Rosa para Sofia
I painted this work as a tribute to my wife, Sofia. Her face appears among roses against a turquoise background, in a composition where colour, texture and fragmented forms give expression to the portrait.
I include it here as an example of my approach to portraiture: composition and the surrounding elements bring a personal dimension to the sitter’s presence. For a commission, we can discuss the person you would like me to portray and what you would like the painting to convey.
Explore Rosa para Sofia and look more closely at its composition.
Tribute to Miguel Folque
As Mãos que Construíram o Mar
This painting pays tribute to Miguel Raul Folque Socorro, founder of Real Atunara and a key figure in the business history of the Algarve’s maritime and canning industries.
Built from visual fragments that intersect and overlap, the portrait seeks to reflect how a life can extend beyond the individual to become a legacy. The face emerges among references to the world of the company, memory and everyday life, as though past and present coexist within a single image.
Between figuration and abstraction, the composition celebrates vision, determination and the ability to build something lasting. More than a portrait of a man, this painting seeks to capture the mark a life can leave on a community, a region and the generations that follow.
This commissioned portrait is displayed at the premises of Real Atunara.
Explore As Mãos que Construíram o Mar and look more closely at its composition.
From idea to painting
How to commission a painting
- Share your idea. Tell me what you would like the painting to explore: a person, a family memory, a landscape or a place that means something to you. You can email reference photographs.
- Discuss the painting and receive a quote. We discuss the subject, dimensions and how the work will sit in your space. The price, timeframe and commission terms are agreed before work begins.
- Bring the painting to life. I interpret your idea through my approach to composition, colour and texture. How we keep in touch during the painting process is agreed for each project.
- Arrange delivery. We agree on framing, collection from the studio or shipping to your chosen destination.
What to share in your first enquiry
- The subject, person, place or memory you would like the painting to explore.
- Your preferred dimensions, if you already have them in mind.
- A photograph of the space where you imagine placing the work, if useful.
- Your preferred date and delivery location, where relevant.
You do not need to have every detail decided before starting a conversation. Feasibility, dimensions, price, timing, framing and delivery are discussed directly with the artist.
Shall we talk about your painting?
To request a quote, share your idea and approximate dimensions. If you have not decided on a size yet, we can start with the subject and the space where you imagine the painting.
Email rui@carruco.com · Get in touch on WhatsApp
You can send reference photographs by email or WhatsApp.
Share your idea with Rui Carruco. You can also arrange a visit to the studio in Restelo, Lisbon, by appointment.
Discover the artist’s work through the Beach and Seas, Urban Landscapes and Musicians and Dance collections.