A fresh perspective on fine art
Introducing hand-crafted portraits for the modern era
Transform your cherished moments into timeless family heirlooms.
Capture the essence of your unique story with a captivating custom portrait that will immortalize your cherished memories for generations to come.
These hand-crafted modern media portraits are a true work of art, and the ultimate way to honour those who mean the world to you. And yes, that includes your pets too!
In a world where digital photos often get lost in the sea of smartphone galleries, a custom portrait becomes a lasting testament to the moments that matter most.
My paintings combine traditional painting techniques with modern media. While the tools I use include a computer, graphics tablet, and software, the method is much the same as traditional painting. Instead of using physical materials like canvas, brushes and paint, I use a stylus to paint on a digital canvas, transforming photographs into beautiful artworks.
The software is just like a huge box of art supplies, providing a wide range of tools that allows me to achieve various styles and textures, from watercolour to oil painting and beyond. For customers, these paintings offer a more timely and cost effective option to traditional oil paintings.
A common misconception is that creating in modern media is simply a matter of pressing buttons or using an app. In reality, it involves a combination of very advanced technical and artistic skills, creativity, and artistic vision. In addition to traditional painting theory and skills, modern media requires mastering complex software applications – something that takes many years to achieve.
All my brush strokes are placed by hand. Once a painting is complete it’s professionally printed on professional quality canvas or fine art paper.
Timeless techniques, modern media
Art from a cell phone image?
Absolutely! You know the photo - it captures their expression perfectly, but the rest of the image is, well….not something you’d want to display on your wall! I can work from “less than perfect” photos to create something you’ll be thrilled to hang on your wall.
I‘m pleased to be a member of the Beyond The Brushes Master Artisan Atelier. This group, headed by Master Artist Michelle Parsley, offers ongoing learning in photographic artistry. The goal isn’t to simply “blend pixels”, but rather to learn classical oil painting, graphite and pastel techniques and then apply them to modern media. I like to think that if Michelangelo were alive today, he’d at least be dabbling in modern techniques and tools! The group allows me to not only further my skills, but also to engage with other photographic artisans who are an endless source of encouragement and inspiration. To be always learning and refining my skills is central to my life as an artist.
Wait….isn’t it just a filter?
No! Each painting is a hand-crafted labour of love.
Sure, there are fancy programs out there that claim to turn your photos into paintings in one click. But trust me, no computer algorithm can match the thoughtful strokes of an artist.
The photos below show the difference between a filter and hand painting. Once you see a hand crafted painting side by side with an image “painted” by a computer you can immediately see the difference.
Each artist has their own unique “hand” which can be seen in their work. No two artists will paint the same subject in exactly the same way, which is what makes each piece special and unique.
What about Artificial Intelligence?
These days, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, it’s tempting to think that a “painting” is just a click away. While AI can produce a "painting" of a dog in moments, it will never truly capture "your" dog. It will just produce an image of "a" dog. To an AI algorithm, your dog is merely a collection of pixels to be arranged.
But you know there’s no dog quite like yours!
Artists bring a human perspective, recognizing the little quirks that make your dog special and emphasizing them. They can make subtle adjustments to get things just right. There’s no computer in the world that can perceive or convey the love in your dog's eyes, or understand the precious bond between you. I believe that’s an incredibly important part of creating art.
But is it really art?
Of course!
Art comes in all shapes and forms and modern media is just another way to express creativity. And, just like traditional painting, it takes a long time to master. Artists spend years learning not only the software, but also classical painting techniques. We use special digital brushes and layering techniques to get the perfect results we're after.
In the end, I believe the only thing that really matters is whether you love a piece of art and how it makes you feel.
If you’d like to take a deeper dive, check out this blog post.
Original photo
“Paint” filter applied
Hand painted portrait