Written by Paul Worrall
“Is Cheerful Painting legit?” comes up a lot as a search, and it’s exactly the right question to ask before spending money on any personalised gift company you haven’t used before. I’ve already covered the wider personalised paint by numbers market in my Best Personalised Paint by Numbers UK guide, but Cheerful Painting specifically gets asked about often enough that it’s worth its own honest look.
I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for ARTdiscount, one of the UK’s largest online art retailers, and I now run Discount Art Supplies — a price comparison platform used by over 41,000 UK artists every week. I’ll say upfront that I’m on Cheerful Painting’s affiliate programme, so any link through to them below is an affiliate link. That’s exactly why I’ve tried to be genuinely balanced here rather than just writing a five-star puff piece — I went through the real customer reviews rather than just repeating the marketing copy.
What Cheerful Painting Actually Is
Cheerful Painting positions itself as a small team of art and DIY enthusiasts, founded in 2019 and originally based in New York, focused on paint-by-numbers kits built around relaxation and mindfulness rather than serious fine art. Their range covers themed designs — florals, coastal scenes, animals — alongside a genuine personalisation option that turns your own photo into a numbered canvas, plus accessories like brushes and a paint reviver spray for dried-out kits.
What’s Genuinely Good
On their own site and across several independent review roundups, the print quality and colour accuracy of the canvases get consistant praise, and the personalised photo option specifically comes up often as a genuinely sentimental, well-received gift — several customers mention giving finished pieces as presents and getting a good reaction. The materials are described as non-toxic, and the overall relaxation angle does seem to land with people who’ve bought a kit specifically to unwind rather than as a serious art project.
What to Know Before You Order
This is the part worth reading properly. Trustpilot reviews for Cheerful Painting are genuinely mixed, and it’s importent I say that plainly rather than glossing over it. Several customers report slow delivery — some waiting close to four weeks for a UK or North American address — and a number describe difficulty getting a response from customer service once something’s gone wrong, with one reviewer noting their support appeared to be AI-handled rather than a real person. There are also specific complaints about faulty items, such as a defective brush, where a promised partial refund reportedly never arrived.
Worth flagging too: the brand presents itself as a small New York-based team, but customer accounts describe orders shipping from Germany and returns needing to go to China, at a genuinely significant cost of £35-50 in some cases — a real gap between the branding and the actual fulfilment chain that’s worth going in aware of. None of this makes Cheerful Painting a scam — plenty of customers report a smooth experience and a lovely finished product — but it does mean managing your expectations on delivery time and being prepared that customer service may be slow if something does go wrong.
Discount Codes
Cheerful Painting does run discount codes and promotional offers from time to time, but codes change and expire constantly, so rather than printing a code here that might already be dead by the time you read this, it’s worth checking their site directly for whatever’s currently live before you order.
The Honest Verdict
Cheerful Painting is a real company with a genuinely nice product when things go smoothly, and the personalised option in particular is worth considering for a sentimental gift. Where I’d push back on the marketing is the international shipping and customer service reality versus the small-New-York-team image — if you order, do it with a bit of buffer time before you need the gift, and keep your expectations realistic if you ever need to contact support.
FAQ
Is Cheerful Painting a legitimate company?
Yes, it’s a real, operating company with a genuine product and a mix of positive and negative customer reviews — not a scam, but worth going in with realistic expectations on delivery time and customer service.
Where does Cheerful Painting actually ship from?
The brand presents itself as a small New York-based team, but customer reports describe orders arriving from Germany and returns being sent to China, so actual fulfilment appears to be more international than the branding suggests. Worth checking current shipping details for your own order before buying.
Is Cheerful Painting good quality?
Many customers report good canvas print quality and clear numbering, and the personalised photo-to-canvas option is regularly praised. Some reviewers have reported issues with specific items like brushes, so quality experiences do vary.
If you’d rather compare across the wider personalised paint by numbers market before deciding, my Best Personalised Paint by Numbers UK guide covers several UK-based alternatives too. At Discount Art Supplies we compare prices across all the major UK art retailers in real time, so you can find the best current deal before you buy.
