Online, an original painting and a print can look almost identical in a photo. In your home, they are completely different objects. If you are buying art for the first time, here is what really separates them.
One of one
An original painting exists once. The artist made every mark on that canvas by hand, and no one else in the world owns the same piece. A print, even a high-quality “giclée” print, is a reproduction that can be made hundreds or thousands of times. When you buy an original, you are buying something no one else can have.
Texture you can see and feel
This is the difference photos hide best. Many original paintings have real physical texture: paint built up in ridges, swirls and layers that catch the light. Prints are flat. Look at the sculpted petals in Roses or Lily: in person, the flowers rise off the canvas and change appearance as the daylight moves across the room. No print can reproduce that.
The story belongs to the painting
Original art carries the intention of the person who made it. Every work in Lana Almouakeh’s Fibromyalgia Collection, for instance, was painted to express a specific experience of living with chronic pain, from sleepless nights in Insomnia to the hidden double life of Hide Behind a Smile. When you own the original, you own that piece of the story. You can read more about it in the story behind the collection.
Value over time
Prints are decor: their value is what you paid for them. An original is an artwork by a specific artist, and its value is tied to that artist’s career. Nobody can promise any painting will rise in value, but supporting an emerging artist early is how many private collections begin, and originals are the pieces that get passed down.
Supporting a real person
When you buy an original directly from an independent artist, the money goes to the person who made it and allows them to keep painting. That matters especially for artists like Lana, for whom painting is both a profession and a way of living with a chronic condition.
Is a print ever the better choice?
Of course. Prints are affordable, easy to replace and good for filling many walls quickly. Many people start with prints and add originals over time for the spaces that matter most: the living room, the entrance, the bedroom.
How to buy an original with confidence
- Check the size on the product page and measure your wall.
- Ask for extra photos or a short video if you want to see the texture and edges up close.
- Ask about delivery. On this site, originals are delivered free within the UAE and international shipping is arranged on request.
Explore Lana’s original paintings in the shop, or contact us with any questions. We are happy to send more photos of any piece.