Transfer of Power 

Putting the power of color and resolution back into fine art reproductions

by Angela Caraway-Carlton

Stephen Hackley, Simple Beauty, oil and copper foil on canvas, 48″ x 60″

Look around your home. Outside of the mass-produced furniture or the chosen color on the walls, what makes your home uniquely you? For many of us, it’s the art that adorns our walls and spaces that best showcases our distinct personality.

“Art is the most personal thing you can have in your home aside from heirlooms. What you choose to put on your walls is a greater reflection of your tastes and what speaks to you,” says David Yangco, who is both an artist and director of operations for the Dallas-based art publishing company Artistic Transfer.

Whether you’re a homeowner, interior designer, business, hotelier or restaurant owner, Artistic Transfer is making fine art more accessible by producing high-quality prints and captures of artists’ custom work. The company’s original founder was at the forefront of digital imaging for decades. After being approached by well-known artists about problems that have plagued the art world since the brush was invented, he set out to develop new technology to solve those age-old problems. Now, a second generation of owners are moving this dream forward.

In the past, a triple threat of problems faced artists who wanted to reproduce their original works. While artists splash their canvases with a myriad of colors, modern cameras and other imaging systems couldn’t accurately capture all the colors, especially red, blue and green hues. Additionally, the lighting properties of metallics like gold and silver couldn’t be properly reproduced. And when images are enlarged for large-scale paintings or murals, the image quality is often lost. Artistic Transfer has found a way to solve each of those problems.

Richard Reiner, Pacific Beach Gaze, oil on wood, 18″ x 24″

“Our image technology is the best out there,” says Yangco, who offers a simple explanation of how the cutting-edge technology works. “Our one-of-a-kind camera individually separates the red, green and blue pixels and shoots each image about 16 times. Our artificial intelligence programming then combines everything for color accuracy and is able to enlarge the image more than 10 times without losing any color or detail fidelity.” The outcome is giclées that are almost identical to the originals, with the same sharp colors, quality and texture, and they can range in size from a postcard to a billboard. Prints can be replicated on paper, canvas, metal, acrylic and even decorative wallpaper, and the company prides itself on using American-made, museum-quality materials.

This exclusive technology means artists are no longer limited to selling one original piece of art, and they can capitalize on their creativity by branching out to giclées and enlarged prints of their work. “When you’re working on a painting, you spend hours designing, sketching and executing this painting, which can only be sold once,” explains Yangco. “Now, at a minimal cost, artists can create limited editions and not only sell those but the value of the original goes up.” It also benefits the average person who doesn’t have a big budget for art. “Not everyone can afford a painting that costs $1,500 or $15,000,” he says. “We want to give consumers something that’s more personal than buying mass-produced artwork at big-box retailers, without having to pay huge amounts of money.”

Fran Di Giacomo, Tuscan Kitty, oil on canvas, 60″ x 48″

Artistic Transfer currently works with an impressive roster of 130 artists from across the globe who deal in all mediums, from oil and acrylics to metallic foil, and every genre, from abstracts to landscape art. Once an artist has their work reproduced, the company is able to connect them with galleries, museums, interior designers, and residential and commercial clients like hotels and restaurants. “We try to find as many opportunities as we can to represent their art and find different niches they can fill,” says Yangco, who also points out that artists can work with designers and decorators to create custom works for their projects.

Henrietta Milan, Vibrance, oil on canvas, 24″ x 36″

Artist Stephanie McLerran studied under the late, renowned painter Nguyen Tri Minh, and recalls her mentor’s warning that printers could never properly replicate the original work of art. Her perspective changed when she partnered with Artistic Transfer two years ago to print her vivid large-scale landscapes and abstracts. “Color accuracy counts,” McLerran says, “and I believe they produce a high quality that would even satisfy him.” She’s not only happy with the reproduction of her art but with the new exposure she’s gained through the company’s vast connections. “It’s like having a marketing agent,” she says. “They’re opening up a whole new customer base and expanding my reach as an artist.” Not being limited to one piece of art is an extra bonus for McLerran. She’s currently working on a painting of a golf course that was special to her grandmother who passed away, and now her family members don’t have to fight over the one piece—everyone can enjoy the art.

Stephanie McLerran, Flower Hole Golf Course, acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 40″

She also points out that Artistic Transfer solves another big concern for artists: security. The company has created a chip that has all the artwork’s information and offers the ability to scan a painting and recognize if it’s the original or a fake. “We provide a lot of services, from security to complying with fine art laws that many artists don’t know about to even building and running an artist’s website and social media accounts,” says David Langley, director of business development for Artistic Transfer. “We take over the technical aspect of it, so the artists can do what they do best.”

Julia Ross, Ocean Breeze (diptych), acrylic on canvas, 60″ x 36″ each

And when artists do what they do best, everyone benefits—their talents make our homes, businesses and world
a more beautiful place. *

Robin Ingle, Watering Hole, oil on canvas, 24″ x 36″

Angela Caraway-Carlton is a Miami-based freelance writer, travel and lifestyle expert, and television producer. Her works have appeared in Indulge MagazineTime OutElysianAventuraSouth Florida Luxury Guide and Modern Luxury Weddings South Florida & the Caribbean. Caraway-Carlton has covered lifestyle trends in South Florida and beyond for more than a decade.

More Information

ARTISTIC TRANSFER
2050 N. STEMMONS FREEWAY
SUITE 555/571
DALLAS, TX 75207

512.253.4421