Portrait Materials
My paintings are painted by hand, the old fashioned way. These are not digital paintings, reproductions or photoshopped images printed onto canvas. I use the best quality materials to ensure your painting will last for many years. To get a good idea of my process from start to finish, you can watch my time-lapse portrait demos or read about ordering a portrait.
Canvas
My portraits are painted on professionally stretched 10 oz cotton canvas with sturdy 7/8” pine stretcher bars. The canvas is stretched and fitted around the edges of the stretcher bars, so the portrait can be displayed attractively without a frame. It's up to you whether you want to add a frame to suit your decor, but it is not necessary to protect the painting or enhance its appearance.
This canvas stretching technique is called spline-fitting, It has a smooth, finished appearance at the back, with no staples or loose canvas showing. The edges of the canvas cloth are tucked securely behind a fitted rubber strip.
Paint
I use the Golden line of professional acrylic paints, which are made in the USA. Professional quality paints have a high pigment strength and are very lightfast.
Unlike oil paints, acrylic paints are safe, resilient and non-toxic. Acrylics are safer and more ecologically sound than oils, because they don't require the use of toxic solvents. Acrylic paints dry quickly to a hard, permanent finish that is very durable. After the painting has dried, I apply a clear UV protective coating to increase lightfastness and decrease dust collection.
When acrylic paints were first developed in the 1940s, the selection of colors and workability was limited. Now, acrylics are available with all the same pigments found in oil paints--the only difference is the transparent binding medium. Paintings made with modern acrylic paints are difficult to distinguish from oil paintings, and more and more professional artists are switching to this medium.
All portraits come signed and gift wrapped with ribbon inside a sturdy box. I also provide an information sheet on painting care and cleaning.