To celebrate a year of my Limited Edition Prints being available to just write a short piece to thank the man behind it all, Martin!
18 months ago I joined Wimbledon Art Studios, having absolutely NO idea how this whole art world worked! I began painting commissions and documenting my work via iphone. It was pretty early on that I recognised the importance of investing in professional, high resolution images. Not only did it allow me to market myself better to future clients, BUT it also gave me access to the print market.
Martin, who works as a *insert clever person job title* in Canary Wharf by day, owns his own photography and printing company by night/weekend/any other hours he can find. It's called ATELIER STURGESS. Particularly in my first year, he has enabled me to make a living as an artist. To put it bluntly, not everyone has £1,000 to drop on an original painting. With the availability of my Limited Edition Prints starting at £125, it has created an opportunity for a larger pool of people to buy into my brand and ENJOY my art!
THE PRINTING PROCESS
1) Once I finish painting an original I carry my artwork downstairs to Martin's photography studio, usually at 10pm (life)
2) He photographs my artwork with fancy lighting and camera things that I don't understand
3) After re-touching and colour-correcting on his computer, we have a final image
4) I upload the LOW resolution image to the shop section on my website. The HIGH resolution file is literally too huge put online, my site would take hours to load! That's the quality we are talking about.
5) Once an order comes through, I forward the email to Martin, and then long story short, he prints an AMAZING quality print, I sign it and then BAM, a few days later it arrives at my clients door, signed and in a weather proof cardboard tube.
The reason why Martin has been so pivotal to my (so far) success is the HONESTLY INCREDIBLE quality of his work. My prints are THE BEST I have ever seen. I can't really express this enough but, his services provide the BEST paper, the BEST ink, and the BEST attention to detail that you can get for professional art prints.
I know he will be reading this and thinking, whyyyy haven't you used all the proper words like archival/museum quality/giclee/etc ... it's because I don't really understand it but I don't have to. I have complete trust in his expertise and am so thankful for everything he does for me!
SO,
1) If you are an artist wanting to begin producing prints, using his services really will take your career to the next level. Book in an appointment here. Word of advice: Don't be late!
2) If you are a potential buyer of my artwork, THEN once you order you will see exactly what I mean! I have only ever had resounding praise for my Limited Edition Prints. You can literally see the texture of the canvas printed out of the paper. There is so much work, (science and art) that goes into producing them, and it's the most amazing feeling to be proud of a product that you sell; that's literally all down to Martin!
Even though he is now a good friend, this post is not bias. But you will see that for yourself when you order a SOPHIE TEA ART PRINT FOR A LOVED ONE FOR CHRISTMAS! haha, okay bye! xxxxx
Love, Sophie
