Printing Primary Colors for David Parker

Recently, I was lucky enough to get to do some work for David Parker for his show at FatTail Gallery in Denver.  Parker has an extraordinary eye for color.  His paintings give us a glimpse into a fantastic world that is vibrant and surreal.

The first task was to photograph some of his original paintings that had been previously owned.  The owner passed away and somehow the paintings were returned to Parker.  After I photographed them with my 4×5 camera I scanned the film and matched the color to the originals.  The scans came out incredible.  I am hoping his originals of these paintings are sold soon, so I get to make some large prints of my scans.

Next I received a packet of transparencies that had been previously photographed and the originals sold.  After scanning them I printed test strips to see the color and how large the files could be printed without losing quality.  For me this was the hardest part of the whole job.  It’s tough to print a painting without ever seeing the original.  I had no idea if the colors were accurate or not.  When I told Parker this he simply informed me that they are just the primary colors.  I guess I tend to over think things sometimes.

I printed the paintings on Chromata canvas from Breathing Color, using their Glamour II Veneer to seal it with a glossy finish.  By the time Parker arrived from France for the show all the prints were framed and ready to be displayed alongside some originals that had arrived in crates a week earlier.  I have to say that they looked pretty darn great all stretched and on display.  The show was a big success and Parker thanked me afterwards and said the prints made the show.  Some of the paintings are still on display and if you are in Denver I highly recommend stopping in at FatTail to enjoy some of these incredible paintings.

See more of Parker’s work at : www.parkerart.com

This post was imported from an older blog originally posted in 2010.