In my travels to participate in art shows across the country, I find the majority of customers who enter my art booth and make a purchase, never even bother to ask about the creation process. They simply like the art, feel comfortable with the price-point and make their purchase. For me, that is the beauty of the digital art business model. I can sell a really great looking piece of art at a reasonable price. For those customers interested in my creation process, a canvas poster hangs in my booth detailing the step-by-step process of how my pictures come to life. Many people take the time to read it and often comment about it. Some have never heard of digital art while others find the modern process very intriguing.

I want customers to understand that digital art is a skilled craft like any other. It took me an entire year to develop a digital painting process that I was happy with. Since then, I have continually refined the process over the past 8 years. No, I am not producing one-of-a-kind works of art, but most customers are willing to trade that off for an affordable price-point.

Sadly, it seems many art show directors and juries are under the delusion that the majority of the population can afford original works of art costing thousands of dollars. My experience with the public has been the opposite. Over the years, I have met thousands of ordinary, average-income earners who are very excited to find my booth amidst shows saturated with expensive original art.

Many people compliment the affordable pricing of my work, while some even suggest that I need to raise my prices. We have gone to great lengths to perfect our printing process. The quality of our digital reproductions fool many people. They often believe they are looking at the original art. It is not our intention to deceive anyone. We merely want people to be excited when they see our product.

I often get asked about original art. The only original art in my current process is my pencil sketches that I scan in to paint digitally. (See the illustration above) During the first five years of my career as a professional artist, all my art was done with colored pencils. I have only parted with a small handful of those original drawings since then. Each one took 3 to 6 months to complete. This amount of time makes it difficult for me to charge a fair price for original work.

This is the biggest reason why I create my art digitally. Time, or lack of it. Digital art lends itself well to art that is rich in detail and textures. This is the style I want to work in and can be achieved with colored pencils or acrylic paint. It just takes twice as long. I plan to return to creating original art down the road, when my children are older and I have more time to commit to the process. Until then, digital art is providing me a successful business model for both myself and my customers.

I was quite moved by the stories of courage from the teachers in the school that day. With all the recent talk of our underpaid educators, it seemed like one more reason why we need to elevate the role and the pay of these dedicated workers. The inspiring tales led me to this illustration. I just kept imagining those brave teachers up in heaven, carrying on, with those 20 blessed little souls.

First off, the specs of my book were a 9.25″ x 11″, 36 page, full color, 4/4 on all pages, with a scuff-resistant matte laminate on cover, 80# cover guts with a smythe sewn binding. I was having them print 7000 copies that were to be shipped in cartons of 20 and shrink wrapped on pallets. No dust jackets.

The process of working with my sales rep prior to the printing of the book all went pretty smooth. There were a few occasional glitches in communication along the way, but nothing beyond normal. The proofs were very satisfactory and they were an accurate representation of the colors in the final printed book, except for the logo on the title page.

The problems began when I received the first 5 copies in advance. Right out of the gate, it was clear that this was a sloppy press job. In all, there were 9 pages with ink drops, smudges or smears appearing on them. I spent my early years working for a printing company and understood immediately what went wrong. It was obvious that the pressmen were just not doing any quality control checks while the press was running.

I wish I could say that was the end of this story, but it only got worse from there. Initially, they seemed to take my complaint seriously. Lehigh even took the step of having the shipment, which had already left their plant, rerouted back there so they could inspect the books. They did find the same sloppy workmanship that I was seeing in my 5 copies and offered a 10% discount to compensate for the lack of quality control. I accepted it, knowing most spotting was minor and should not appear on the entire run of books, but would later come to regret it.

Upon receiving the shipment, I headed out to one of my biggest shows of the year with 5 cartons of book in tow. Three boxes in, more problems arose. The top book in each box had glossy spots showing through the scuff-free laminate. The gloss came from the glossy paper that the book cover was printed on, which was then covered with the scuff-free laminate that had a matte finish. The top book was rubbing against the cardboard during shipment and wearing away the laminate. Again, this would have been a simple fix by placing a protective sheet on top of the books. A practice followed by most book printers. When I returned home from the show, I randomly opened 19 boxes and saw the same problem with each and every box.

I wish I could say that was the end of the problems, but it was not. The most egregious quality control issues appeared deeper within the boxes. It is fair to say that I could not go through a box without finding books that either had dented covers, misaligned bindings, debris stuck to the cover or dried streaks of glue on the cover and even stacks of books that had dried with 4 or 5 books stuck together. I even found one book with pages that were bound upside down. I found it quite remarkable none of these problems were discovered when the shipment was recalled for inspection. There was not one case of books I could find without at least book suffering from these quality-control issues.

Basically in a situation like this you’re fucked. The printing bill has been paid, your stuck with an order of books reaching a defective rate of 20+ percent and you have a group of New Jersey assholes on the other end asking, “What do you want us to do about it?’ My conversations with my sales rep’s boss went nowhere. When I went over his head and got his boss involved, he went ballistic on me over the phone. I have never been spoken to so unprofessionally in my entire career as a business owner, yet, I was the customer. During his tirade, he let it slip that the employee in charge of the bindery dept., who worked on my books, was no longer working there. This alone was a clear admission that something was wrong when my books went through their facility.

The bottom line is any good printer would never have shipped those books. I initially wanted Lehigh Phoenix to reprint the books, but as it quickly became clear they had no intention of taking any responsibility, I only wanted out. Never once did they try to make things right. They only argued the facts and played games to buy themselves time, hoping I would acquiesce and keep the books.

Eventually, Lehigh Phoenix agreed to take the books back and dispose of them, but only after I brought my credit card company into the fight. This occurred at a loss for my business, but  it was worth it to be rid of a subpar product and the incompetence of Lehigh Phoenix. They are a big company and I’m sure they felt like they could bully me into accepting this half-ass run of books. My standards for quality for quality are very high, especially after two years of labor to create a book. My opinion is, Lehigh Phoenix is not capable of providing customers with books that are fit for resale.

Illustrated books take a great deal of work before they are ready for print, don’t turn them over to a careless printer upon its completion. Educate yourself about printing and do your homework on any future business partner. As you can see, even with a good referral, things can still go wrong. My book did, however, have a happy ending. To See the Sea went on to win a GLYPH award from the Arizona Book Awards in 2010, after it was successfully reprinted by Friesens of Canada.

Timeless is produced by Breathing Color for an all-in-one printing solution when used in combination with their canvas paper products. I use their Chromata White canvas on my Epson 9900 to create all my art. To their credit, BC has given me excellent customer service whenever I have had issues. They have helped me troubleshoot problems and, when necessary, replace defective product. This has only occured once.

I should also note that I began using Timeless back in 2009. BC has since improved the formula and this sealer no longer requires the same amount of stirring and straining it once did. Gone are the clumpy remains that lived at the bottom of the container.

Spray Environment:
My spray environment is not a professional spray booth. I use my garage with all the doors open, coverings on the walls and on anything within the vincinity. My air compressor is a Craftsman 20-gal, which handles spraying 3-4 prints before it refills. It is loud and I wear earplugs. I also wear a mask during spray sessions.

I tape the canvas to large sheets of cardboard for the spray process. Some folks use foam board, but cardboard is more durable. It doesn’t warp like foam board and its less expensive. I follow the manufacturer’s directions in storing, stirring and prepping the product.

Use an HVLP Spray Gun
I have used the high-desnity rollers to apply the Timeless sealer by hand, but I quickly recognized this method was not for me. The results were very inconsistent from one canvas to another. Many people out there may not do enough volume to warrant the spray gun method, but it certainly offers the best results.

I use a DeVilbiss Finishline FLG3 gravity-fed model. Pricing runs about $150-$200 for a kit, which includes multiple size nozzle tips. 50-55 psi delivers the best spray from the gun with my compressor. I typically apply three coats to each image. As Breathing color describes on their website, try to get a nice wet look with each coat, as if you spilled a glass of water on the picture. Larger images usually require a fourth coat to get a nice finish on them.

The risk with applying too much Timeless is the dreaded air bubbles. This occurs when applying too much Timeless too quickly. When it does, reduce the volume of output and keep the gun moving.

The Proper Size Fluid Tip
Oddly, I have never seen this mentioned anywhere, but the size of the fluid tip can be a factor to successful coating. My DeVilbiss gun came with three different sized fluid tips, 1.3, 1.5 and 1.8 mm. I started off using the 1.5 mm, but found, especially when it gets hotter outside, this size tip could not provide enough volume. I moved up to the 1.8mm size and it seems to be the right size for the job.

Cleaning Your Gun
This is just common sense when using a tacky substance like Timeless. Upon completing a round of spraying, I dismantle the gun and rinse it out thoroughly. I will then drop the air cap, fluid tip, needle packing nut and the baffle into a jar of Aceton. Timeless is a sneaky substance. It can build up thin layers inside these parts and starve the volume delivery from your gun over repeated use. Soaking these parts has been a key part in getting consistent results. I will usually soak them for several hours or even overnight.

In addition to soaking parts, I will also clean the nozzle of the gun during spray sessions. Timeless dries quickly and can form a layer a skin over the tip or the gun or the air holes. Using a cotton ball dabbed in Aceton, I wipe the gun after every 3-4 prints. This keeps the gun clear and spray volume consistent.

When the gun is broken down, Q-tips and cotton balls dipped in Aceton clean the gun. Pay special attention to the threaded areas of the gun, as Timeless can build up in and create difficulty when reassembling the gun. You can also soak the entire gun and parts in Aceton when necessary.

Temperature
Recently, I came to recognize is the importance of air temperature when spraying. I live in Phoenix where it can be over 100° by 10 am. Anytime I have sprayed in temps over 85°, the satin sheen has turned out inconsistent. Some areas are more glossy while other areas are less glossy. I believe this is due to the quick drying nature of Timeless. It can be so sensitive, that even the air from the gun can dry it instantly. The remedy is to keep your gun moving and work early if you live in warmer climates.

Other Tips
Be sure the small air hole located in the lid of the spray gun cup is open. Timeless can get splashed on the inside of the lid and cause poor ventilation if it gets clogged. This will result in unpredictable bursts of spray due. Poke a small nail through the hole before each spray session to prevent this.

Check and recheck the pressure valve on your compressor. Different, hoses, connectors, valves, etc. can all affect the final output of the spray. As suggested by Breathing Color, you want to make sure the spray penetrates the surface of the canvas. My compressor drops in pressure after the first round of spraying and needs to be nudged back up. It usually only requires this once, but if you find your spray diminish during a session, this is a good place to check.

Timeless is a great product and has helped me create product that I’m proud to pass on to my customers. It can be temperamental, frustrating and maddening experience getting this substance to work just right. But I hope this information will help others overcome some of its issues.

As I continue with my series on occupations, the Dentist, is next on the list. I try to consider all ideas that my customers throw at me and somehow, Dentist, lands very high on the list of requests. It took some time to formulate a good concept. In fact, I feel like I cannot take credit for the idea. The credit belongs to my subconscious. When I chose to move forward with the dental concept, I sketched several ideas that were very literal interpretations of the idea, but I found them humorless and boring. But sometimes, the creative process needs to flush out such ideas to uncover the real gems.

About a month ago, I was in Bellevue, WA for an art show. I was working in my sketchbook during the early hours of the show when, abruptly, the lights came on. I had a great visual for the dental painting. Several months had past since those first, dour ideas had appeared in my sketchbook. But now, my subconscious was offering a delightful solution. I quickly sketched out an oversized thumbnail of my vision that became my dental painting now in progress.

I think mature artists get adept at developing their ideas. Several years ago, I would have overworked the initial bad concepts and most likely produced something that was mediocre. The idea I ended up using felt genuine, like it came from my soul. Those are the ones worth waiting for. I hope you agree.

The final art should be released in late September.

Documounts is a company that specializes in custom matting, along with a variety of other supplies any artist might need to ready their work for sale. The two years previous to this introduction, I had been cutting all my own mats by hand. Cutting your own mats can be a labor-intensive process, not to mention frustrating and costly when it comes to errors. Sure, I might have been saving up to a $1 in production costs with each mat I cut, but the hit my creative time took in lieu of the mat production was not worth the savings.

Over the past six years, I have turned over 100% of my mat production to Documounts and they have become an essential partner for my business. I purchase both matting and mounting boards from them, which is used to assemble my art into matted print format, as those seen in the image above. Documounts offers a robust selection of mat colors which is vital for an artist who specializes in bold, vibrant hues. On average, I carry about 15 different mat colors to provide my customers with a broad range of color choices.

Documounts is a great company and committed to quality. I have not once, in the past six years, returned even a portion of my numerous orders back to Documounts. The quality and accuracy is always there. They seem like the obvious choice for anyone who needs custom matting, but for those who are not aware of their presence, please look them up online at Documounts.com.

Documounts recently asked my to write a blog post for them, where I share insight on creating your artwork to fit standard size frames:

Read my blog post for Documounts.

Yes, that is a bag of coffee beans, which means I’m working on a top secret image featuring the coffee theme. To be released in late August.