For me, my art is never fully realized until it is rendered on a substrate. It resides as a digital computer file, only readable by a computer and software that can decode the file. So when I print an artwork for the first time, it’s like a birth. It can then be hung on a wall and experienced the way I envisioned it being experienced; a tangible object, instead of an image on a computer monitor. For the work Gradatio Vectes (Gradation of Bars in Latin), I’ve rendered it on a new paper (Pura Velvet 100% Cotton Rag Textured Fine Art Paper by Breathing Color) I’m beginning to use that exceeds archival permanence more than any other because it’s the first to achieve the same color gamut (color intensity) without having Optical Brightener Additives (OBA’s) added to the surface of the paper as a receptive coating. It’s been tested with Epson Ultrachrome Inks and exceeds the standards set by The Fine Art Trade Guild’s (FATG) for archival digital Prints. Optical brightener additives are bleaching agents that make fine art cotton rag papers used for digital printing more white. The whiter the paper, the better the color rendering. The problem with OBA’s is they are sensitive to UV and will yellow over time. I’m so pleased with the result of my first print on this paper. The colors are so vibrant.
Gradatio Vectes being printed on an Epson Stylus Pro 9600 aqueous pigment printer with Epson Ultrachrome Ink on Pura Velvet cotton rag textured fine art paper made by Breathing Color.
Gradatio Vectes, 2015
Epson Ultrachrome Print on Pura Velvet Cotton Rag
Edition of 3, 50 x 44 inches