canvas and watercolour art from photos

digital imaging, photo painting and giclee printing

‘We would like to thank you for the excellent service that you have provided us with, we have highly recommended you to all our friends and family. Our canvas is beautiful and exactly what we wanted.’

‘the canvas came yesterday as promised and looks even better than we had thought. We are really pleased and thank you again for your help.’

‘Once again we're very pleased. The watercolour effect picture in particular is outstanding.’

fine art quality canvas and watercolour prints

for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, retirement, house and home, portraits, pets, holiday memories, sports, achievements, interests, genealogy

• direct reproduction (giclee print) of your photo or original artwork on to canvas or watercolour
• OR ... we apply digital image editing ...
• to turn your photo into a stunning personalised artwork as shown in the examples further down this page (links below)...
• portraits in painted, pop art and manga/cartoon styles
• a montage or collage from a number of photos
• retouching and editing to remove or change undesirable areas
• restoration of images from old or damaged photo prints
• digital photo painting to achieve the look of a watercolour or canvas painting
• brush painted edges for a painted effect on canvas or watercolour
• colour changes and colour matching

orders and enquiries

before confirming an order, we will check your image to ensure it is of adequate quality and resolution, advise on suitable sizes and styles and suggest any editing and enhancements to ensure you get the very best picture from your image

each order is individually priced but the price guide shows prices for direct reproduction from a digital photo image for some typical sizes on canvas and watercolour

• complete the no obligation quotation or contact form
• you will then be able to upload your digital images directly to our website or you can send them as attachments
• for large images on cd/dvd and photo prints, negatives and transparencies for scanning please contact us
• we will reply by email with a specific quotation for your image

customer satisfaction

you can be assured of personal service, practical advice and unrivalled attention to detail to create the very best pictures from your photo images

email proofs and a posted sample swatch are sent to you for approval before the final print and payment request, so you can be sure of colour accuracy and quality of materials

further information on technical details, ordering and delivery can be found at more information about..., but we are happy to answer by email or telephone any further questions you may still have

direct reproduction on to canvas or watercolour

a good quality photo can be enlarged and directly reproduced, with cropping if required to make a better composition

for artists and photographers, giclee printing provides the opportunity for limited editions on demand

left, Positano canvas 78x57cm

from an original digital image 3264x2448 pixels with gallery wrap taken from the image

the colours were intensified slightly from the original image

right, Cornwall watercolour 58x36cm

a scanned high quality transparency with the straight image edges changed to a watercolour brush style

a little adjustment may be made to intensify the image definition and colour so that it still looks as sharp at its enlarged size

if you would like the image to extend around the canvas gallery wrap, we can usually extend the original image by cloning to avoid losing detail from the front of canvas

to retain good image definition, a digital image should have a minimum resolution of about 100 pixels per inch at the final print size

a greater enlargement can often be achieved with digital imaging techniques - please contact us for advice on your image if you are unsure

quotation request/upload images | contact us return to top of page

digital image editing and manipulation - see examples further down this page

imperfections that are not obvious at screen or small print size can be very distracting when the image is enlarged

common problems that can be fixed are red eye in flash photography, colour noise when photos are taken with a long exposure in low light settings, parts of the photo in deep shadow, tilted camera angle

distractions that spoil the composition such as the photographer's shadow, power lines and passers by can be removed

backgrounds can be softened or replaced and lighting effects added to give prominence to the main subject

separate images can be combined

the whole picture can be rendered in a painted style

almost any change is possible - just ask!

quotation request/upload images | contact us

portraits

a home photo to be used for a portrait will generally require a change of background

this is most effectively done by artistically rendering the photo in a painted style and either blending out the background or creating a new neutral background

alternatively, the portrait can be reworked in a pop art or manga cartoon style

the painted or drawing style accentuates the main features of the portrait

please contact us for advice on suggestions for your particular photo

traditional

‘Jacob’ - from a high resolution digital image 2548x2299 pixels, printed in a painted style with background painted over - canvas 55cm square

manga/cartoon drawing style

‘Myles’ - from a scanned photo print on canvas 60cm square

the outlines and features are digitally drawn and block filled with colours

original images can be quite low resolution even for large enlargements, but they should have well-defined, distinctive features

quotation request/upload images | contact us

montages and collages

collages and montages are the extremes of a continuum of styles in which a number of individual photo images are assembled into a single picture - they are ideal for birthday and anniversary presents

in a collage, the individual images are still clearly defined

in a montage, the individual images, or extracted parts of them, are blended together to form a seamless composition

we take account of the inevitable differences in quality and lighting conditions of the individual images so that the whole composition is evenly balanced

photo retouching and editing

so often the photo is almost perfect, but there is something that spoils it such as the shadow of the photographer, red eye or a cluttered background

retouching and editing can make all the difference

smiling baby

original digital image 960x1280 pixels, above left, was edited to remove background distractions and the baby's face retouched to remove bits of splattered food; cropped and printed as a canvas 50x50cm with wrap in a graded colour to match the background

quotation request/upload images | contact us

photo restoration

old family photos are irreplacable, but over the years can become faded, creased and torn and marked with fingerprints and stains

digital imaging processes can repair the damaged areas and even enhance significant features

the restored image can then be enlarged and printed on canvas or watercolour in a sepia tone or converted to black and white or other colours

the old photo print 8.5x6inches, left, was scanned and digitally restored and the writing on the cart enhanced for prominent visibility

printed on canvas 42x30cms in black and white as part of a set of restored historical images for Randalls Farms Maidenhead Berkshire

quotation request/upload images | contact us

digital photo painting

the aim of artistic rendering is to rework the photo image into the perspective and style of a painting of the same scene

emphasis is given to the main features and colours of the picture

the whole composition achieves more contrast and depth and there is less emphasis on fine detail, although facial detail is generally retained - for this reason a painted style is often very effective for enlarging a photo image beyond its normal limits as in ‘playing football’ below

above centre, ‘wedding day’ on canvas 75x50cms with gallery wrap

artistically rendered to give focus to the wedding couple and the golden leaves - framing the composition by accentuating the trunk and branches of the tree in the foreground; blue was introduced for distance and to give colour to the grey sky; the couple were bathed in a warm light and the wedding date was inscribed subtley into the paving

above left, original digital image 3504x2336 pixels

above right, close up view of a section showing painted effect

‘playing football’ on canvas 45x35cms

left - original low resolution digital image 627x600 pixels

centre - artistically rendered to give focus to the players, the football and the immediate foreground

right - close up view of a section showing painted effect

watercolour digital painting with brush edges

digital photo paintings on watercolour are particularly effective and distinctive and further examples can be seen on a separate web page

the painted brush edge effect can also be used on canvas

above centre - ‘holiday cottage’ artistically rendered in a watercolour painted style on watercolour 38x26cms

above left - original low resolution digital image 600x400 pixels

above right - close up view of a section showing painted effect and watercolour brush edges

view further watercolour digital paintings

quotation request/upload images | contact us

colour changes and colour matching

colour images can be converted to black and white, sepia or other tones for artistic effect

colours can be matched to logo, furniture or decor colours

as the colours seen on your screen may not necessarily be a good indication of the printed version, we always post a sample to you for approval before the final print

early morning lake

left - original rgb colour photograph, 2816x2112 pixels

right - cropped and resized image, changed to a sepia and blue split tone for artistic effect, printed on canvas 100x57cm

gallery wrap taken from original image for top and bottom and cloned for the sides

quotation request/upload images | contact us