Art Prints on Canvas - one really REALLY BIG

[spider-t]

I have been showing my photos in local galleries for a year or so. I am always looking for something new to do with my images. I tried a couple of canvas prints in December. I usually only see big close-up flowers on canvas so I wasn't sure my urban stuff would carry.

I got a good response so I decided to do a whole show this month.

People LOVE these canvas prints! I can't keep the stuff on the walls. And they look really impressive as you go big.

I had a patron who wanted me to go bigger than the 24"x36" he saw in the gallery. I worked with the lab and they totally hooked me up.

Check this out: 40"x60"!!

http://trishtunney.smugmug.com/photos/56872947-L.jpg


Here's a little storyboard (http://www.trishtunney.com/gallery/1215763) about how I put them together:


TIPS:
- Do not get the gloss finish on canvas. It's too delicate and should be
under glass. AND it comes off with water. Get the matte finish.
- Do not stretch the canvas too tight or you'll break the image.
- Sand the front edges of your stretcher bars if they have a sharp corner.
- Make sure you have a non-abrasive work surface for stretching or you'll scratch the image.

Where I get My Stuff:
- stretcher bars - Dick Blick (http://www.dickblick.com/zz072/03/) or Utrecht Art (http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1317&subclassID=131711&brandname=Utrecht) or any art store would work
- canvas stretching pliers - Dick Blick (http://www.dickblick.com/zz089/03/) or any art store
- canvas print or giclee - Pixel Outpost (http://www.pixeloutpost.com/) I like them, but shop around and find your favorite
- acrylic paint and brushes - Utrecht (http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1014&subclassID=101410&brandname=Utrecht) makes my favorite paint

Make something big!

cheers!
Trish

[cabbey]

Wow. :oogle Simply wow.

I love the choice to paint the edges rather than leave them bare canvas.:thumb

[spider-t]

Wow. :oogle Simply wow.

I love the choice to paint the edges rather than leave them bare canvas.:thumb
Thanks cabbey! Painting the edges is part of the fun of putting these together. I try to pick images that already look a little like a painting so they make sense on canvas.

cheers!
Trish

[Shay Stephens]

Big prints rock!

[DanielB]

i know this just follows the measurbators theory but what camera was that taken with?

[Shay Stephens]

Daniel Daniel Daniel :nah

As Yoda would say:

“Camera matters not. Look at this one. Judge it by it's pixel count, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For our ally is exposure and composition, and a powerful ally it is. Creativity creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Artistic beings are we, not crude pixel peepers. You must feel the images around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the subject and the camera.”

http://forums.shaystephens.com/graphics/yoda.jpg

i know this just...

[spider-t]

i know this just follows the measurbators theory but what camera was that taken with?
I took this with my crappy 2-year old Nikon D70 (6 mpix). I had the 24-120VR on it at the time.

Not really crappy. I love this camera. But I'm starting to feel the pressure to upgrade.

It's a crazy thing about these "computer" cameras. I used my first camera for 20 years.

Good thing we don't have to throw the lenses away too!! :):

cheers,
Trish

[Andy]

Yo Trish! :clap :clap

Permission to copy this tutorial to http://dgrin.smugmug.com tutorials section?

:bow :bow

[Angelo]

very nice Trish! :thumb

please don't upgrade from the D70... we purists have to stick together!

[flyingdutchie]

First off: Awesome print, Trish! I'd love to see this print in real life.

...Not really crappy. I love this camera. But I'm starting to feel the pressure to upgrade.
...I had the same feeling :D .. when my D70's lightmeter broke down and i had to buy a backup camera. I was thinking about buying a D200 and have the D70 as a backup. But no D200 to be found except on eBay..

[Dee]

Altho I hardly ever get into "the city." Some day when I have some energy I'll have to check out one of these shows.

Do you do anything special to make these large prints? I have an 8 megapixel camera, so I guess I could do this too if I wanted to.

[spider-t]

Yo Trish! :clap :clap

Permission to copy this tutorial to http://dgrin.smugmug.com tutorials section?

:bow :bow
Definitely. Thanks!
Trish

[Andy]

Definitely. Thanks!
Trish


Done. THANK YOU, Trish :clap :clap

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1217201/

[spider-t]

Altho I hardly ever get into "the city." Some day when I have some energy I'll have to check out one of these shows.

Do you do anything special to make these large prints? I have an 8 megapixel camera, so I guess I could do this too if I wanted to.

That would be great if you came to a show! If you'd like, I can add you to my mailing list. I send out notices before each one.

I don't do anything special to make the large prints. I didn't even shoot raw.

You can definitely make a large canvas print too. I can't promise you can go 40"x60". It's best to work with the printer directly with your particular image. Let them do any upsizing that is required. They know their equipment better. You just send them your jpg or tiff.

I used Pixel Outpost (http://www.pixeloutpost.com/) to do my printing. These guys are really awesome.

I wasn't expecting much when I first tried them because their prices are so reasonable compared to others that make canvas prints (a.k.a. giclee prints).

Just don't get the glossy finished canvas. Get the matte.

cheers,
Trish

[DanielB]

Daniel Daniel Daniel :nah

As Yoda would say:

“Camera matters not. Look at this one. Judge it by it's pixel count, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For our ally is exposure and composition, and a powerful ally it is. Creativity creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Artistic beings are we, not crude pixel peepers. You must feel the images around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the subject and the camera.”




:rofl


thats why i said
i know this just follows the measurbators theory
:bad

[lynnma]

Trish thats fantastic! thanks so much for sharing.. I'm inspired!!! great work congrats!:clap :1drink

[Sam]

Trish,

Nice work. Keep us posted about any shows you have comming up, there a few of us in the bay area who could drop by for a look and visit.

Sam

[spider-t]

Trish,

Nice work. Keep us posted about any shows you have comming up, there a few of us in the bay area who could drop by for a look and visit.

Sam
Thanks!!

If any of the bay area folks are interested in hearing about my upcoming shows, you may add yourself to my email list here:

http://www.trishtunney.com/gallery/384508

cheers!
Trish

[USAIR]

Trish good work and very cool canvas photos
I love doing these and I also am always trying to do more with my photos
Thanks for great links and great tutorial

Fred

[ScovoPhoto]

Thank You! For introducing the concept of these big art prints! This is so cool, it has given me a whole bunch of new ideas and energy. Thanks!

[spider-t]

Thank You! For introducing the concept of these big art prints! This is so cool, it has given me a whole bunch of new ideas and energy. Thanks!

Excellent! Although, it hardly looks like you need any new ideas, looking through your galleries.

I love that you give yourself assignments.

cheers,
Trish

[Lee Massey]

Shay,

That was one of the funniest things I have read on dgrin. :thumb

Lee


As Yoda would say:

“Camera matters not. Look at this one. Judge it by it's pixel count, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For our ally is exposure and composition, and a powerful ally it is. Creativity creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Artistic beings are we, not crude pixel peepers. You must feel the images around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the subject and the camera.”

[asamuel]

would this wirk with smaller prints? what are your thoughts?

[asamuel]

Daniel Daniel Daniel :nah

As Yoda would say:

“Camera matters not. Look at this one. Judge it by it's pixel count, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For our ally is exposure and composition, and a powerful ally it is. Creativity creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Artistic beings are we, not crude pixel peepers. You must feel the images around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the subject and the camera.”



Is there a thread that makes this clear. Ive got the one hand clapping and heard the void of trees falling in my absence. but this confuses me...

How does exp comp and exposure help us with the final print quality? How do we push our megre means? If you spell it out I would like to get it.

See I have a 350D. bought it in good faith. Big investment, liking the results. However a freind of mine told me that even with this tech at this hunk of money I wouldnt viably be able to print anything larger than A4:wxwax .

Well my blood boiled so it did. it carnt be true I thought and maybe your reflections can explain to me why:D . Make me a happy man.

[Art Scott]

See I have a 350D. bought it in good faith. Big investment, liking the results. However a freind of mine told me that even with this tech at this hunk of money I wouldnt viably be able to print anything larger than A4:wxwax.


Your 350D has 8mp....I used to shoot a KM A2, also 8MP.....MY local pro processor said it would make 30 X 40 inch prints no problem...remember the viewing distance also....the larger the print the farther away one is supposed to be when viewing it.....ok said I....but I want it tack sharp at 8 x 10 viewing distance....so I used Genuine fractals to upsize it to 30 x 40 inches....my client was EXTREMELY HAPPY......so was I.

Pro processors have RIP software for uprezing the files they recieve......

normally when a camera mfg'er says a camera will only out put this size...they are talking inkjst at home printing...from my experience.

Curious as to why your PORTFOLIO is passworded....I find that odd for a portfolio.:dunno

[spider-t]

would this wirk with smaller prints? what are your thoughts?
You can certainly print on canvas in a smaller scale. I've seen some really nice small stuff.

But I'm with Art. You friend is wrong about printing sizes with the camera you purchased, especially when it comes to ink. I've only got a 6 megapixel camera and I have had a lab create a 72 inch print using this type of printer.

And it's not just that it looks good from a distance. I put my face a few inches from the canvas and it's crazy sharp.

Start with a good image, and the upsizing does an increadible job. Blew me away. I was really surprised.

cheers,
Trish

[Andy]

You can certainly print on canvas in a smaller scale. I've seen some really nice small stuff.

But I'm with Art. You friend is wrong about printing sizes with the camera you purchased, especially when it comes to ink. I've only got a 6 megapixel camera and I have had a lab create a 72 inch print using this type of printer.

And it's not just that it looks good from a distance. I put my face a few inches from the canvas and it's crazy sharp.

Start with a good image, and the upsizing does an increadible job. Blew me away. I was really surprised.

cheers,
Trish

:agree :agree :agree

[sussimathew]

A couple of yrs ago I got the idea to work in this 'style' from looking at photograph negatives. With negatives the colors seem to be reverse and I thought 'why not reverse and/or alter the normal colors most artists use?' After a lot of trail and error I've come up with what I think are cool effects. It's not exactly photo negative art now but it was born from the concept. The problem is I'm clueless when asked to 'label' this style. Would you like to take a shot at doing so?

[ArchiTexas]

A couple of yrs ago I got the idea to work in this 'style' from looking at photograph negatives. With negatives the colors seem to be reverse and I thought 'why not reverse and/or alter the normal colors most artists use?' After a lot of trail and error I've come up with what I think are cool effects. It's not exactly photo negative art now but it was born from the concept. The problem is I'm clueless when asked to 'label' this style. Would you like to take a shot at doing so?


Interesting. I'd be interested in seeing some of your images, you should post a few or provide a link to where we can enjoy them.

I've created some work along similar lines, although I don't work with a negative image. The top two images were created on my old 5 Mp Lumix camera and upsized to the size you see printed. The bottom triptych was shot with my 10 Mp Olympus (three shots actually), they only needed modest upsizing - in Photoshop in this case. I agree with the comments made about Genuine Fractals, the algorithms it uses are simply amazing and provide outstanding results.

http://www.erfphotoart.com/photos/265521822_wHvD7-M.jpg

http://www.erfphotoart.com/photos/265522128_9svco-M.jpg

http://www.erfphotoart.com/photos/265522990_wRGYC-L.jpg

http://www.erfphotoart.com/photos/265522779_oLs26-M.jpg

[Art Scott]

A couple of yrs ago I got the idea to work in this 'style' from looking at photograph negatives. With negatives the colors seem to be reverse and I thought 'why not reverse and/or alter the normal colors most artists use?' After a lot of trail and error I've come up with what I think are cool effects. It's not exactly photo negative art now but it was born from the concept. The problem is I'm clueless when asked to 'label' this style. Would you like to take a shot at doing so?


I too would love to see your work, sounds very interesting....I used to create what I called my alien landscapes....photos shot on transparency film (slide) and then printed on standard print (negative) paper....so the result was a negative print .......I would shoot the scene and have walmart or kmart print my proofs and then I would decide what needed to be changed and do that in my own darkroom...it was quite fun...........................
Please do link us to your photos or post a few here for us to enjoy.....looks like i may have to start up again myself to see what lies hidden in the deep dark receases of my mind......:D......you might even give us an outlkine of your workflow so we can see how you accomplish your final work of Art.......:thumb

[Montec]

A bit late to this thread but I thought I would throw this in...I recently had several large canvas's done at one of the major online canvas shops and they ask for 150 dpi images...the results were beautiful.

I am going to give it a go myself this week...I have all the material and Epson 7880 with a ImagePrint RIP so I should be set!

[ashle123]

Well friends, I am creating a mosaic of small pictures on a canvas. But one of the pictures is very detailed. I will get a print out of what I want from the internet, cut it out and paste it on the canvas. What can I use that is clear to cover the small image on the piece of paper? Then I will paint something on top of that. What can I use to cover a small paper image on a canvas painting?

[spider-t]

Well friends, I am creating a mosaic of small pictures on a canvas. But one of the pictures is very detailed. I will get a print out of what I want from the internet, cut it out and paste it on the canvas. What can I use that is clear to cover the small image on the piece of paper? Then I will paint something on top of that. What can I use to cover a small paper image on a canvas painting?

I think I understand what you're asking. It sounds like you want to attach a photograph to canvas and paint over it. I'd recommend an acrylic painting medium (http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1020&subclassID=102012&brandname=Utrecht). Multimedia artists use this all the time. Either matte or gloss, depending on what you want to use it for.

cheers,
Trish

[Gary Miller]

Wonderful piece, Trish!

Is there a particular reason you stretch the canvas yourself instead of having the printer do it?

Also, I've seen the canvas products that actually do a reverse/mirror image on the wrap edges. Makes for an interesting finish on the final mount. Have you seen these?

Again, fantastic work. Thanks for sharing.

- Gary

I have been showing my photos in local galleries for a year or so. I am always looking for something new to do with my images. I tried a couple of canvas prints in December. I usually only see big close-up flowers on canvas so I wasn't sure my urban stuff would carry.

I got a good response so I decided to do a whole show this month.

People LOVE these canvas prints! I can't keep the stuff on the walls. And they look really impressive as you go big.

I had a patron who wanted me to go bigger than the 24"x36" he saw in the gallery. I worked with the lab and they totally hooked me up.

Check this out: 40"x60"!!

http://trishtunney.smugmug.com/photos/56872947-L.jpg


Here's a little storyboard (http://www.trishtunney.com/gallery/1215763) about how I put them together:


TIPS:
- Do not get the gloss finish on canvas. It's too delicate and should be
under glass. AND it comes off with water. Get the matte finish.
- Do not stretch the canvas too tight or you'll break the image.
- Sand the front edges of your stretcher bars if they have a sharp corner.
- Make sure you have a non-abrasive work surface for stretching or you'll scratch the image.

Where I get My Stuff:
- stretcher bars - Dick Blick (http://www.dickblick.com/zz072/03/) or Utrecht Art (http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1317&subclassID=131711&brandname=Utrecht) or any art store would work
- canvas stretching pliers - Dick Blick (http://www.dickblick.com/zz089/03/) or any art store
- canvas print or giclee - Pixel Outpost (http://www.pixeloutpost.com/) I like them, but shop around and find your favorite
- acrylic paint and brushes - Utrecht (http://www.utrechtart.com/dsp_view_products.cfm?classID=1014&subclassID=101410&brandname=Utrecht) makes my favorite paint

Make something big!

cheers!
Trish

[spider-t]

Thanks Gary!

I stretched the canvas myself mostly because I could and it costs so much more to ship a large framed piece than it does to ship it rolled up in a tube. I print 4-8 pieces at a time for my shows, so it can really add up.

I don't actually paint the edges of my pieces as shown in this thread any longer. I did that in my first year when I had a lot more time and I wasn't worried about workflow so much.

I have used the reverse/mirror image edges on some of my images. It worked well with some, but so many others had a line in the image that took a distracting sharp angle turn on the edge. Made especially distracting if you like the really deep master stretcher bars. So I don't use the reverse/mirror any more unless a client asks for it specifically. But it works great for landscapes or images with less "stuff" near the edges.

What I mostly do now is print the image slightly larger than the frame (to reduce the precision requirements of stretching) and paint the edges black with a high density foam roller.

I have my own 44" printer now, so I don't have to worry about shipping any longer. :-)

best,
Trish



Wonderful piece, Trish!

Is there a particular reason you stretch the canvas yourself instead of having the printer do it?

Also, I've seen the canvas products that actually do a reverse/mirror image on the wrap edges. Makes for an interesting finish on the final mount. Have you seen these?

Again, fantastic work. Thanks for sharing.

- Gary

[Gary Miller]

Trish -

However you are doing it, they are amazing.

Thanks for sharing.

- Gary

Thanks Gary!

I stretched the canvas myself mostly because I could and it costs so much more to ship a large framed piece than it does to ship it rolled up in a tube. I print 4-8 pieces at a time for my shows, so it can really add up.

I don't actually paint the edges of my pieces as shown in this thread any longer. I did that in my first year when I had a lot more time and I wasn't worried about workflow so much.

I have used the reverse/mirror image edges on some of my images. It worked well with some, but so many others had a line in the image that took a distracting sharp angle turn on the edge. Made especially distracting if you like the really deep master stretcher bars. So I don't use the reverse/mirror any more unless a client asks for it specifically. But it works great for landscapes or images with less "stuff" near the edges.

What I mostly do now is print the image slightly larger than the frame (to reduce the precision requirements of stretching) and paint the edges black with a high density foam roller.

I have my own 44" printer now, so I don't have to worry about shipping any longer. :-)

best,
Trish