A note from the studio Pizzella — painter, framer
Mandeville, Louisiana

I work slowly, in oil, the way I was taught in New Orleans.

Every portrait starts with a conversation — photos, memories, the bit that makes your dog your dog. From there I sketch, then paint, then frame it with my own hands. It’s not fast. It’s not cheap. But when it goes up on your wall, it’ll stay there for a hundred years.

— the workshop Pizzella studio palette and tools

The studioMandeville, 2026

03About the shop

Mike Pizzella, painter & framer.

Art made and framed by the same hands.

Pizzella Picture Framing & Fine Art has been on US-190 in Mandeville since 2014. Owner Michael Pizzella has been painting in oil and custom framing in southeast Louisiana since 2005.

The shop specializes in oil portraits of pets, homes, cars, and boats, alongside full-service custom framing with conservation materials. Just about anything you can think of.

Come by the shop to see the work, or feel free to call.

88+

Pet portraits

2005

Painting & framing since

2014

Shop opened

04Services

What the studio does.

Four things, done with the same set of hands. Each one is priced by size and complexity — not by the hour, and never by template.

/ 01

Pet Portraits

Oil on linen or panel, worked from your photographs. Single subject or full pack. Includes initial sketch review and one round of revisions before the painting is delivered.

FROM$180

/ 02

Custom Framing

Conservation-grade matting, UV glass, and hand-finished moldings. Dozens of profiles in the shop; custom leaf and stain by request. Turnaround usually one to two weeks.

FROM$85

/ 03

Originals & Commissions

Louisiana landscapes, historic homes, still life. One-of-a-kind pieces painted on commission for the specific wall they’ll hang on. Larger-scale work by consultation only.

FROM$400

/ 04

Restoration & Re-framing

Old family paintings cleaned and stabilized. Frames regilt, re-cornered, remounted. Bring in what you’ve got and I’ll tell you honestly what’s worth saving.

BY QUOTE

The Pizzella studio at 1901 US-190 in Mandeville

Open / Mon–Sat · Walk-ins welcome

05The studio

A brick-and-mortar workshop.

1901 US-190, Suite 5, Mandeville

The shop is equal parts studio, framing bench, and gallery wall. Come in with a photo on your phone, a painting from your grandmother’s attic, or nothing at all — Mike’s usually somewhere with a rag and turpentine on his hands.

Hours: Mon – Sat · 10am–6pm
Walk-ins welcome
Phone: (985) 231-7088
Address: 1901 US-190, Suite 5
Mandeville, LA 70448
Directions: Open in Google Maps →

06How a commission works

From your photos to your wall.

A portrait takes four to six weeks, start to finish. Here’s exactly what happens between the day you send photos and the day it shows up at your door, frame and all.

Step 01 · Day 01

Send photos.

~ 15 minutes of your time

Email three to eight pictures of your pet — natural light is best, eye-level is better. Send the goofy ones too. Include the size you’re imagining and the room it’s going in.

Phone photos are fine. Really.

Step 02 · Day 02–03

A conversation.

~ 20 minutes on the phone

Mike calls. You talk about the animal — the thing that makes them them, the quirk, the sleeping pose, the stare you want to remember. This is where a painting becomes a portrait instead of a copy.

Step 03 · Week 01

Pencil sketch.

Delivered by Friday

A rough sketch goes back to you for sign-off. Proportions, pose, composition, crop. One round of changes is built into the price — anything structural gets fixed now, before a drop of paint hits the linen.

Say so if the nose looks wrong.

Step 04 · Week 02–04

Oil on linen.

Two to three weeks of painting

The painting happens in layers — an underpainting first, then build-up, then the detail pass. Oil needs time to set up between coats. You’ll get one work-in-progress photo around week three so you know it’s alive.

Step 05 · Week 05

Framed by hand.

Three to four days at the framing bench

Once the surface is dry enough to move, the piece comes off the easel and onto the bench. Frame stock picked from the wall, cut, joined, finished. The painting is mounted with archival hardware so the canvas doesn’t shift.

Step 06 · Week 06

Delivered, wrapped.

One afternoon

Local clients pick up at the shop or Mike drops it off himself. Out-of-state ships packed in a custom crate, insured, with hanging hardware and a written care note in the back.

Hang it somewhere you’ll see it every day.

Oil, Linen, & Patience.

Recent pieces from the bench.

What the camera missed, the artist saw.