When I create an original painting, I never really see it as just one finished piece.
One of the things I love most about what I do is discovering just how versatile one painting can be and how the same piece of artwork can be transformed into completely different products.
A great example of this is my watercolour painting of Liam Gallagher.
It starts with a paintbrush
The original artwork began life as a traditional watercolour painting. I wanted to capture Liam Gallagher in a way that suited the softness and character of the medium, using watercolour to build up the tones, details and atmosphere of the finished piece.
Once the painting was complete, I then had the opportunity to take it beyond the original artwork.
This is where the combination of traditional art and modern technology becomes really exciting.
From original painting to digital artwork
I digitally captured the finished watercolour, allowing me to preserve the artwork and reproduce it in different formats.
The first result was a high-quality print of the painting, which is now available through my website.
I really like this part of the process because it means the original painting doesn't have to be the only way someone can enjoy the artwork. A print allows the image to reach a wider audience while keeping the look and feel of the original watercolour.
But I wanted to see what else I could do with the same piece of artwork.
Taking the painting into the world of UV printing
This is where my xTool Omni UV printer came into play.
Using the digital version of the Liam Gallagher watercolour, I created a completely different product...a magnet.
What makes this particularly interesting is that I wasn't simply reproducing the image onto a flat surface. The UV printer allowed me to experiment with texture and raised areas, giving the magnet a more tactile finish.
The result is something that looks very different from the original watercolour, yet it all comes from exactly the same piece of artwork.
The painting that started life on paper with watercolour paints has now been transformed into a physical product that you can hold in your hand, with texture that you can actually see and feel.
The possibilities of one painting
And this is exactly why I love what I do.
One painting doesn't have to mean one product.
The Liam Gallagher artwork has gone from an original watercolour, to a digital image, to a wall print and then into a textured UV-printed magnet.
But that's only the beginning.
The same artwork could potentially be used to create coasters, signs, decorations, gifts, plaques and all sorts of other products. Different materials, finishes and techniques can completely change the way the artwork is experienced.
That's what makes the process so exciting for me. I can start with something completely traditional...a blank sheet of paper, watercolour paints and a brush...and then use modern technology to take that artwork somewhere entirely different.
Where traditional art meets modern technology
I think there is something really special about bringing these two sides of my work together.
The original painting has all the individuality of something created by hand. Digitalisation then allows me to reproduce and adapt that artwork, while technologies such as UV printing give me new ways of presenting it.
The end products don't have to look or feel like the original painting. They can become something completely new while still carrying the artwork that started it all.
And that's what this Liam Gallagher piece has shown me.
One painting can have many different lives.
From something painted by hand, to something hanging on a wall, to something small and tactile that you can hold in your hand — the possibilities are far greater than I first imagined when I picked up the paintbrush.
The Liam Gallagher watercolour print is available to purchase through my website, and the textured magnet is another example of how I can take my artwork and turn it into something a little different.
For me, that's the real joy of creating: the painting doesn't have to end when the paint dries.