A signed ink original — their name and the years they gave, lettered by hand. Not a card or a voucher: the one they keep.
I take only a handful of commissions a week — book early to lock in their date.
You send a photo; I draw the person — their name and years lettered underneath — and post the signed original. Here's a recent one, drawn from the photo on the left.
James's family gave him this for his retirement, after a lifetime in trading. He was deeply moved — and it's hung on his wall ever since. A gift like no other.
The kind of gift that's unwrapped to a quiet room — and stays on the wall for twenty years.
Drawn from your favourite photo — their face and their character, captured just as they are.
Name and decades worked into the page in ink — “34 years on the ward”, in my own lettering.
100% cotton, 300gsm, milled in France since 1492 — the paper galleries use. It won't yellow, and it frames in a standard size.
A couple of quick questions, and I'll show you their portrait and the price — no sign-up.
A hand-drawn portrait on Arches® cotton paper, from £59 — you'll pick A4 or A3 on the next screen.
Free to see it — and you approve a sketch before I ink the final.
No risk. You pay today, then I send a sketch for your approval before I ink the final — and if it isn't right, it's a full refund.
Flowers wilt and vouchers vanish. A signed original — not a print — stays on the wall for twenty years.
Every portrait comes with a digital copy — to share with everyone who chipped in.
I only take a handful of commissions each week, so every piece gets the time it needs.
Reserve a slot, then send a favourite photo and their details — the role, the years, anything I should letter in.
I send a sketch for your eyes first. Change whatever you like. Only once you're happy does it become the final, in ink.
Signed, dated and well wrapped. Drawn near Paris, sent tracked to the UK in good time.
I'm Thibault Boursier — a French painter and draughtsman, trained at the EPSAA in Paris.
For years I drew people's portraits on the Place du Tertre in Montmartre, from a small studio that always smelled of turpentine. That's where I learned to catch a face fast — and true.
To me, drawing isn't a job. It's a way to leave a trace: on canvas, on paper, on someone's wall. A retirement portrait is exactly that — a whole working life, caught by hand, to keep.
Every piece is drawn by me, here in my studio near Paris — ink and wash, signed. No filters, no print farm. Just a pen and someone's life's work.
I draw within two to three days, then it goes tracked to the UK. Tell me the date up front and I'll only show you what can genuinely arrive in time. On a tight deadline, the A4 is the quicker of the two.
Most leaving gifts get used up or quietly forgotten. A portrait of them — drawn by hand from your photo, with their name, what they did and their years lettered underneath — is the rare one that goes on a wall and stays there. It tells someone their working life mattered, in a way a card, a voucher or a bottle can't.
Me — Thibault Boursier, a French painter and draughtsman trained at the EPSAA in Paris. For years I drew people's portraits on the Place du Tertre in Montmartre. Every piece is drawn by my own hand, in ink and wash, and signed — no print farm, no AI, no filters. Just a pen and someone's life's work.
One clear photo of them, plus three things to letter under the drawing: their first name, what they did, and the years they gave it. You send the photo by email right after ordering — I reply personally and get to the easel.
You see a sketch before any final ink, and I'll change it until it's right. If you'd still rather walk away at that point, it's a full refund — every penny back.
Today, securely via Stripe, when you place your order. I then send you a sketch for your approval before I ink the final — and if it's not right at that stage, it's a full refund, every penny back.
Arches® paper: 100% cotton, 300gsm, milled in France since 1492 and used in galleries and conservation. Choose A3 (30×42cm) or A4 (21×30cm) — both frame in standard sizes, and neither will yellow with age.
Yes — the real drawing, signed and dated, posted to you. Not a print, not a file.
Not at all. It's just as much from a partner, the children or the grandchildren. Anyone marking the end of a long career.
Picture their face when they unwrap it — and where it'll hang for the next twenty years.
See their portrait & price