The digital age has brought about many changes, but never has the ability to express ourselves artistically been so accessible and sophisticated. We can now take our happy snaps with our digital camera and transform them into something remarkable. We can download them instantaneously, with no need to wait for them to be developed. We can perfect them with a tweak here and a tweak there or use our photo as a base to create a totally new image far removed from the original, using one of the many easy to use photographic editing programs available for your pc and which probably came free with your camera. Taking your own photographs one stage further, they can then be transformed into canvas prints.

Imagine a family portrait immortalised on canvas, creating a focal point in your favourite room or even a row of canvas photos cascading down the stairs as regal as you would find in any country pile. The point is large pieces of art, personal to you and your family, are no longer the preserve of the wealthy.

The applications of canvas printing are endless. Once upon a time, most of the homes and offices you would visit would display art from a limited number of mass produced popular images, such as Vladimir Tretchikoff ’s “Chinese Girl” whose green hued face stared down from countless living room walls during the 60’s and 70’s. Even now, much of the art in many homes has been purchased in a well-known Swedish outlet or from a well known catalogue chain! While that’s no bad thing, beauty is still in the eye of the beholder and what appeals to me will not necessarily appeal to you and vice-versa. Many large prints that are affordable have been pared down to a sort of visual common denominator, designed to appeal to the many, a sort of art “muzak”. Transforming your images or photos to canvas allows you to express yourself symbolically and artistically ensuring that the images on your walls are totally unique to you.

You may feel unable to afford a unique piece of work commissioned by an artist and yet don’t want a mass produced image, especially in the current “credit crunch” climate, so what if instead, you were the artist, collaborating with experts to create a print on canvas, made of quality materials, using the latest techniques, to your size, colour and style specifications at an affordable price and delivered to your door in 24 hours? You can even have your own Warhol-esque or Lichtenstein style print. This exciting new trend makes individualism attainable.

How satisfying to have a visual product that encapsulates your own personal artistic taste and expression. This medium really does allow everyone to express and realise a unique vision that is tailored perfectly to their environment. Thanks to technology, freedom of artistic expression is back in the hands of the people.