Art reproduction that earns its place on the wall

Welcome to my blog, I am a professional cartoonist, illustrator, artist and writer. My site here is intended to promote a range of works that I think will look good on the wall. Included on my site is not just my own work, but some works by other artists who's work I love and hope to bring to a wider audience. I hope you enjoy your tour of my site and welcome any feedback. Prints are fulfilled by The Print Space for prints on paper, they are one of the UK's premier fine art print companies, and there is also the option of buying some images printed on to canvas, these are fulfilled by Printumo. All prints are available world wide.

Art reproduction can sound like a rather dry phrase, as though a picture has simply been copied and sent through a machine. For me, it is about getting an image off the screen or out of the studio and into the room where somebody will live with it. The best print still has the pull of the original idea: a strong bit of drawing, an odd building, a patch of weather, a familiar landscape seen properly, or a sign that catches the eye because it has quietly been there for years.

What makes art reproduction worth buying?

A print does not have to pretend it is the only one in existence to be worthwhile. These works are not limited editions. That keeps them accessible and means the choice can be based on the thing that matters most: whether you genuinely want to see it every day.

A good picture earns its place by doing something to a wall. It might add a sharp line of black and white to a quiet room, bring colour to a hallway, or give a sitting room a view that feels more interesting than the actual one outside. It should have enough character to stand up to repeat viewing. A picture that looked impressive for ten seconds on a phone can become tiresome very quickly when it is above the sofa.

That is why reproduction quality matters. Fine art paper has a different feel and surface from canvas, and neither is automatically better. A detailed charcoal drawing often benefits from paper, where the grain, smudges and deep blacks can be enjoyed close up. A bold landscape, photographic street scene or large advertising sign can look particularly good on canvas, where the image has a more physical presence. The right choice depends on the picture and the wall it is going on.

Art reproduction begins with looking

Much of my own work starts with things that other people walk past without much ceremony. Old industrial buildings, sheds, corrugated iron and industrial metalwork have a direct visual appeal that newer buildings often lack. There are lines, dents, shadows and layers of paint already doing half the drawing for you. They have been altered by weather, repairs and use, which gives them a bit of history without needing an explanation pinned beside them.

I photograph a lot of this subject matter, then work from it when the weather is bad or when a particular arrangement of shapes will not leave me alone. The aim is not to make an architectural record. It is to find the balance of tone, texture and composition that made the place worth stopping for in the first place.

The Gloucestershire countryside is another constant source of material. Its fields, tracks, changing skies and worn rural structures have a quieter sort of drama. Around the River Severn there are sites that feel both open and industrial, with mud, water, big skies and the occasional piece of purposeful metalwork. A shed against a low grey sky can be every bit as compelling as a grander view if the drawing gets the proportions and atmosphere right.

Drawings that keep the rough edges

New charcoal drawing images have recently been added, alongside new photographs and recent paintings. Charcoal is a useful medium for these subjects because it does not tidy them up. It can hold the soft tone of distant land, but it can also make a corrugated roof or dark doorway feel satisfyingly solid.

There is a temptation with art reproduction to polish everything until it becomes smooth and decorative. I would rather retain some of the scratch, uncertainty and weight of the original work. Those marks are not mistakes to be removed. They are often where the image has its life.

Black and white work is particularly good at exposing whether a composition works. Without colour to help it along, the picture has to rely on shape, contrast and the path your eye takes through it. A well-placed shed, a run of fencing or a dark line of trees can be enough. It is simple, but not necessarily easy.

Los Angeles signs and the pleasure of the overlooked

The photographic work also moves further afield, including some rather good images of large advertising signs in the Los Angeles area. These are not polished tourist views. The interest is in their scale, lettering, fading surfaces and slightly absurd confidence. A big sign designed to be seen from a moving car has a graphic force that translates brilliantly into a print.

Available as photographic images as well as canvas prints, these works suit rooms that need a bolder visual note. They have colour, typography and a sense of place, but they do not require you to have visited Los Angeles to enjoy them. Like the industrial subjects closer to home, they are about noticing what is already in front of us: useful structures, commercial surfaces and bits of urban theatre that become more striking when framed.

Canvas can work especially well for a large sign because it gives the image scale without turning it into something too glossy. Paper, on the other hand, lets you appreciate the photographic detail and surface more intimately. There is no fixed rule. A small, carefully chosen print can have far more effect than an oversized image bought only to fill a blank space.

A personal selection, not a warehouse catalogue

The site includes my own work alongside artists whose work I admire. That matters because buying pictures should feel more like being shown something worthwhile by somebody with an eye, rather than scrolling through thousands of interchangeable images.

There are new exciting works by Steve Parker in the selection too. Bringing in another artist is not about making the range look busy. It is about offering work with its own visual language while keeping the same basic standard: images with personality that will look good on the wall.

Guest artists can also make a collection more enjoyable to spend time with. One picture might be a calm Gloucestershire landscape, another a lively lino cut, another a photograph of a sign, and yet they can all appeal to the same person because each has conviction. Taste is rarely as neatly separated into categories as galleries sometimes suggest.

Choosing a print for the room you have

It helps to think about viewing distance before choosing a size. A charcoal drawing beside a desk invites close looking, where subtle tones and marks matter. A large canvas above a fireplace has to read from across the room, so a clearer shape or stronger colour is often more effective. The picture does not need to match every cushion and lampshade. In fact, it is usually better when it has enough independence to give the room some energy.

Consider the light as well. A print on paper can bring a calm, matte quality to a bright room, while canvas has a more substantial presence on a broad plain wall. Black and white works can stop a colourful space becoming too busy. Landscape work can make a compact flat feel less enclosed, while an urban photograph may give a newer interior a bit of grit and humour.

Most of all, choose the image rather than the trend. You might be drawn to the wonky geometry of a shed, a charcoal sky over the Severn, or an enormous Los Angeles sign with lettering that is nearly as interesting as the message. If you keep finding your eye returning to it, that is generally a better guide than any rule about interiors.