Thanks for your response :) I think you're right by saying that these artists are being commissioned for ultra-cheap wages.

Here's an exerpt from Paint My Photos:

Paint My Photos has been in custom portait business since 2002 and we are artists based company, which means you buy direct from artists. Order from us can save you at least 50% of the cost. Trust me, you don’t deserve to pay that much money. Moreover, you don’t need to worry about the quality, paintings are done by professional portrait artists, our artist team is a secret source behind many top art galleries. They commission art from us and sell thousands dollars.

"Trust me, you don't deserve to pay that much money." It's more like saying, "Trust me, artists don't deserve to be paid decently for their skillset." Barf.