From original painting to print - how we do it

What we do
So what makes Watkin Art different from other artists creating travel style prints? Well - all our prints are created from Richard's original paintings and not computer generated and we do all the fine art printing ourselves. This means that not every line is perfectly straight, the colours are vibrant and earthy and each painting is unique with around 50 to 60 hrs of blood, sweat and tears put into each and everyone of them!  

Why we do our own printing - because we like to be in control!
After all Richard’s hard work slaving over a canvas we don’t want our images photoshopped to perfection. So, as soon as the paint is dry we take a photo and pop it onto the computer ready for printing. We don’t digitally enhance them in anyway; just make sure the colours are a true representation of the original painting. We like to see the texture of the canvas, the brush strokes, the highlights and lowlights. Look hard enough you can sometimes see tiny imperfections where Richard has made small adjustments to the painting depending on how the composition is coming together.

From original painting to print
We are very lucky to live in Dorset which is full of inspiration, we discuss which location we think would work (or sometimes people make suggestions) and then make a visit and take a selection of photos. Back in the studio, at the bottom of our garden, Richard will decide what the focus of the painting will be - a building, car, plane or to just allow the location to speak for itself. Often he will research the history of the location to help him decide.

Once he is happy Richard will create a composite image which is then drawn out on canvas and the painting begins. He uses acrylics because of the vibrant and deep colours he can create and the speed at which they dry and each painting will take approximately 50 to 60 hours to complete depending on the complexity.

When we are both happy with the painting we photograph it and begin printing using our brilliant Canon Pro1000 Giclée printer. Richard then signs all the prints and we carefully pack them with a recycled grey board backing and cello bag ready to send to you.