A Print’s Journey

When I moved to New Hampshire six years ago, I decided I wanted to decorate my first apartment with some of my own artwork. I had my image “Glowing Fern” printed and mounted 30×45 inch canvas gallery wrap and hung it above our $15 sofa bed in the living room, where my roommates and our guests could enjoy it.

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One of my best friends from grad school took a liking to the image and asked her parents to buy it from me for her as a graduation gift. It ended up being the gift that gave twice – I got a nice sale and Molly got some great artwork for her own place.

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Her first house after grad school was a quaint stone cottage in rural Pennsylvania, where the canvas not only looked perfect but accentuated the cottage atmosphere while adding a contemporary touch. Last year she moved into a house and brought her “Glowing Fern” canvas with her, this time hanging it in her dining room.

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Seeing the journey of this piece of art is pretty cool. I always ask customers to share photos of their artwork in their homes, but Molly is the only person to keep me updated on her canvas when she moves. It’s also incredible to see how well this particular piece has worked in different settings. One of the things I really like about canvas is that it’s super portable – stretched canvas wraps tend to be much lighter than prints framed in glass so they are easy to hang just about anywhere, even the bigger pieces. The lack of frame also allows the artwork to stand on its own, although I’ve had customers frame canvas as well and the right frame can really help the artwork stand out. It all depends on the individual piece.

Liven Up Your Walls with BIG Canvas

Every so often I make a pretty big print sale that gets me really excited. I love selling big art pieces for a few reasons: 1) it means someone really loves my work, 2) it means I get to donate to an awesome charity (5% of all sales is donated to a non-profit, usually a conservation or education organization), and 3) my photo gets to decorate and improve someone’s home (or office or other space), and I know what a difference art can make in making a space feel complete.

One of my absolute favorite ways to display and hang big photos is through a medium called a canvas gallery wrap. I love canvas for large pieces because it is lightweight, making it easier to hang and a much safer option for households with kids or pets, and gallery wraps look great frameless. Eliminating the glazing (glass or acrylic) and frame can make it possible to hang even really large photographs on walls with just a hammer, level, and some very basic hardware, without additional reinforcements or structural supports. Photographic prints, on the other hand, can get really heavy when finished with matting, frame, and glazing. Just replacing the broken glass on a large piece can cost several hundred dollars, and if you’ve ever shattered wingspan of glass overhead you can understand how dangerous and unsettling that can be.

Glowing Fern Canvas

Earlier this month I sold a fairly big piece, a five foot wide canvas gallery wrap of one of my most popular Florida shots. Because the image is so large, I’m having my printer ship directly to the customer and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I’m excited about the piece, because I have done some pretty large wraps before and I know how impressive they can be.

For example, I have a 2×9 foot triptych in my living room of sunset from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia, one of my favorite places, and just today my friend Molly sent me a picture of her “Glowing Fern” canvas wrap in her new living room. Molly and I became friends in grad school and her parents bought her the art piece as a graduation present. I’m thrilled with how great it looks and love that every time she looks at that photograph, from her home in Pennsylvania many miles away, it reminds her of me.

So if you are thinking “big art” try a canvas gallery wrap! They are easy to care for and display, a lightweight option for those who move frequently, and a safe alternative to heavy glass for families with young children or pets. Plus the presentation looks amazing and when you are hanging big art on your walls, isn’t that the point?