Digital Painting on Aluminum

I use “Digital Painting on Aluminum” to loosely describe my artworks. They are not strictly paintings and I certainly don’t paint them on aluminum. I manipulate images using sophisticated computer software to the point where the image is no longer literal. I feel my pieces fall outside the bounds of traditional photography. I use the image as “paint” that I squeeze and tease through fantastical mirrors. Composition and shading are essential elements—and are completely within my control.

My pieces are created on a computer and must be printed for you to be able to hang them on your wall. But when I print out my work on paper, even on super glossy paper, I lose the vibrancy that I see on my computer monitor. I choose to print my work on aluminum because it offers the closest thing I have seen to the back-lit glow of a screen. The results are a vivid print, almost glowing with color. Details are crisp and there is a depth in the surface that accentuates the modeling I do with my artwork.

I do not create aluminum prints myself; I must have them printed through a service. The process involves coating a sheet of ridged aluminum with a special ground. Then, my image is printed and embedded in this base coating. They are lightweight and easy to hang. As a bonus, the print doesn’t require a frame or glass, instead, mounting hardware allows the image to “float” above the wall.