Chris & Katie Humphreys - Jet Settin' Photogs with a SICK studio!

We got to know Chris and Katie through a forum that we're on and love - Open Source Photography. At that time, they were living in Carpinteria (about 15 minutes from Santa Barbara, CA) and we did some canvases for their studio. When we saw their images we were SO exited to print something unique and awesome! All of their work is incredible.





So now, our neighbors "up the street" (we're about 3 hours South of Santa Barbara) have moved to Denver, Co., and have a wicked cool studio - lots of hard wood floors and brick. It doesn't really matter WHERE they hang their hat however - as they fly ALL OVER God's creation to take awesome images!


We printed some new canvases for their rockin' new digs - enjoy the images, and PLEASE!!! Go visit their site and blog - leave them some love, and tell them that P2C sent ya! www.chrishumphreys.com. (of COURSE it's linked!) *snerk*

Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai - Goddess of Black and White

My husband, CB, was a film shooter. Lots of time in the darkroom. (I'm not EVEN going there). One of his icons is Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai. This is how she describes herself on her website:

I'm a dinosaur. I work entirely with B&W film and older (sometimes vintage) cameras. I tend toward dark, brooding imagery with a twisted sense of humor. I especially love images that hint at a story without giving away the ending. I love Cocoa Puffs and red wine, not at the same time. I believe music should be listened to at top volume, or not at all. I don't wear anything pink. Ever. I like feeling misunderstood. I am moderately deaf and ridiculously blind, which may explain my love for photographing textures. I have more ideas than I could possibly fulfill in ten lifetimes, which is my way of saying that I never sleep.

She doesn't DO canvas. Until now.

You can imagine our elation when she ordered the canvases for this WONDERFUL project, "YouthBiz". Following is an image and what she had to say about it:


I wanted to share a snapshot of my first canvases (yes, ever) along with a giant thank you to Curt and Roxanne of Pixel2canvas. As a dedicated film shooter, I typically only do handmade fiber prints, but this job called for something different.

The canvases were made for a non-profit organization that teaches job skills to inner city at-risk youth. It's called YouthBiz, and it's a remarkable program. The kids actually run their own T-shirt printing shop, including all the tasks from actual manual labor up through marketing, finance, and management. They are so successful that they've were able to buy and renovate a large building downtown. The designed the main entrance specifically to showcase the images I shot for them last summer.

My challenge was to make prints that were large enough for the space, lightweight, glass-free, and durable. In my mind, canvas was the only way to go, and I only had just over a week to make it happen for the grand opening. Pixel2canvas came through for me in a big way. I am extremely picky about my prints, but the quality of these canvases blew me away. Deep, inky shadows and well-controlled highlights, as well as a true B&W without any traces of green or magenta.

The entire YouthBiz crew loves the new prints and asked me to pass along their thanks to Curt, Roxanne, and their team.

Here's the entry with six 24x36 canvases. Not pictured yet (I'll try to add it soon) are the two 30x40's directly behind the reception desk. Please excuse my stringy hair; it was a blizzard outside. ;)

RUN your fingers to your mouse and her website. MAKE SURE YOU SEE "THE REGULARS"

Thank you Cheryl - so VERY much! We look forward to more collaborations - and I'll wear pink for the both of us! *snerk*

Luxe Canvas - Come and Get It!!!

We have had SUCH a fantastic response to our new Luxe canvas, we thought we'd drop the price on a few sizes for a little but - kind of our own Economic Stimulus package! *grin* Go to the Special Products page to find the sizes and sale prices.

You've heard it said, "you've got to show it to sell it." And it's true! Have you EVER tried to explain a gallery wrap to someone who's not in the industry??? Not always an easy task right? This is the perfect time to get samples as well. Try to budget one sample per month - maybe one every two months. This way, in 6 months to a year you'll have a great representation to show your clients. And yes - they will FINALLY UNDERSTAND that a 16x20 is NOT BIG AT ALL! *snerk*

For the next few days, we're going to be talking about wall galleries, how to sell galleries, and heck - just even how to sell canvas! When people finally get one, they fall in love, and want one from nearly every shoot.

A few posts ago, I detailed the difference between our new Luxe canvas and our traditional Legacy canvas. If you haven't already, take a minute to read up on the two and also look at our finish options -

We're the only canvas provider (that I know of) that offers TWO types of canvas, TWO types of finishes, and THREE depth sizes - add that with being able to do ANY custom size - even over 6' long - and I think we have more options than pretty much any provider today.

Oh - don't forget that we're a GREEN shop - NO OBA's, we use biodegradeable coatings, and our wood comes from USA reforestable farms. And, we just totally ROCK at what we do. And I'm wicked serious about that.

AND ONE LAST THING - Don't forget to order your FREE 5x7 ART PRINT whenever you place an order - go to the Special Products page to upload your image. You can give it to your client as a thank you gift, or keep it for yourself - it doesn't have to be the same image as your canvas order.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU - to all of our customers and evangelists - it means the world to us - that you trust your memories -and your client's memories - to Pixel2Canvas.

Kudos, Clones, and What Not

Happy Good Friday!!

I wanted to share a couple of cool things with you. First off is an email from our friend Charlie Thiel of Charlie Thiel Photography - he writes:

"To the management and staff of Pixel2Canvas: You have once again proven to me why I use your company. My client was surprised that I use a California based company for my canvas prints when I am based in Charleston, SC. The reason is you guys make it work, every time. Katie and Roxanne helped pull together a large order for me, and do it in very short order. They took my jumbled notes and images and made it all come together in a coherent order. In addition, the fact that my $2000.00 order was just over $1400.00 with Roxanne's birthday discount, I am a very happy man! Both Katie and Roxanne were extremely helpful, but also really enjoyable to talk to. What a great company, what great people!"
Charlie Thiel
Charlie Thiel Photography

Thanks Charlie! He had some LARGE canvases for a trade show booth in North Carolina - this is a furntiture trade show - he promised to send images after the show.

Now - for The Clones!

Linda Hawkins is AMAZING. Her photography and PS skills are off the charts! She recently had her work shown at a gallery in Rhode Island - here is her post on a forum we belong to:

"The clones have entered the gallery! LOL! As most of you know, four of my pieces, including three from my clone/multiplicity were selected to be shown in the SENE Film, Music and Arts Festival in Providence RI. When I arrived at the gallery the gallery people couldn't wait to get their hands on them! LOL! They love them! They were calling them deep, emotional, spiritual and...my favorite....poetic! Wow! And I was worried they'd think they were wacky and psycho! SO, they are there, the doors opened at 1:00 today and I will not see them until Saturday night at the Artist Reception in the gallery. That is when I will see them on the walls! Very exciting stuff! Tonight is the opening night gala and it's being held in a movie studio here and there will be a lot of big film makers and producers there including Michael Corrente. One of my Haven Brothers shots from the NBC Today Show will be hanging at that event! My work is for sale and the gallery will handle everything...they don't even take a cut! I hope I sell something! But then my hubby said, what if you walk into a restaurant and there on the wall is the picture of you naked in the bathroom....yikes! Never thought about that! LOL! This is RI, that IS a possibility! LOL! Maybe one of the out of staters will buy it..then I won't have to worry! They are expecting people coming in from all over for this event!"

(Note - I didn't include the bathroom one she's talking about - sorry!) You'll have to check her website for that one!

Here are her images...

This last one, Mad Tea Partyis our FAVORITE - it's getting printed BIG on canvas for her! You can check out her work on her site, Linda Hawkins Photography.

Mother's Day Canvas -

I want to thank everyone for the great response with our first ever Mother's Day Canvas template! Did you find the .pdf file helpful? How are you marketing this to your clients? I would love any feedback you have on the template and the .pdf - bring it on people!

And yes - we're coming up with a Father's Day template too - Moms can't have ALL the fun!

Exclusive Mother's Day Template from Pixel2Canvas

We have two BEAUTIFUL canvas templates created by Sarah Gourdie exclusively for us - and your customers - for Mother's Day!

Canvas sizes are 12x12 GW and 20x20 GW. Colors are Pink or Sage.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to email your client list, and let them know about this awesome gift. Their shoot is already done - just choose an image, and the canvas will be delivered before Mother's Day! Of course, we'll drop ship too. NO P2C branding, invoices, or ducks. Grandmas, Aunts, Sisters & Cousins will certainly cherish this as well!

We've created a .pdf file for you to download and add your information to so you can email it to your customer base. Go to http://www.pixel2canvas.com/, hit the Downloads tab, and save the .pdf to your computer. Add your contact information and email it to your customer base. All they have to do is choose the image, and we'll do the rest!





Please have your orders in by May 1 to ensure delivery by May 8th. Drop Shipped orders, as always, have NO P2C BRANDING WHATSOEVER! No invoices, no P2C labels, no ducks.


The text is the 2nd half of a poem by George Cooper, and reads, "Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one Mother the wide world over."


My mom's getting one. *grin*

Oh - If you haven't seen Sarah's work, you MUST GO - RUN - DON'T WALK - to her website - www.sarahgourdiedesigns.com - she creates the most amazing templates for photographers!

Is Your Canvas OBA Free? It NEEDS to Be!!!

P2C Says "NO" to OBA's! (Optical Brightning Agents)

Pixel2Canvas has always worked to ensure that the canvas artwork that we produce will last beyond our lifetime. This means that we use only the BEST products, from the canvas we print on to our frames and our backing Tyvek.

We view the collaboration of your imagery and our artistry to be the highest possible representation of your art. We take pride in what we do!In the past, people have asked all types of questions about our product, but one question is coming up more and more these days. It concerns the use of OBA's or Optical Brightning Agents in our canvas prints.

We can say with confidence that our canvas is, and has always been OBA free! But you might ask...why does it matter? OBA's are used to artificially enhance the brightness of a canvas media. They are typically found in less expensive canvas products. The problem is that over a short period of time...These OBA's break down and can cause significant deterioration of the image. Problems such as yellowing in white areas is a common problem when using OBA canvas. Even when protected with a UV coating, these additives in the canvas will cause a faster deterioration over time.

This is why we use only stable OBA free canvas for all our canvas prints!

So the question then comes up...how can I tell if my canvas is OBA free? Simple. If you have teenagers in the house, or on your street, you can likely find a way to obtain a BLACK LIGHT. Pass the black light over your canvas. If you see really no reaction, your canvas is OBA free. If it lights up like a white shirt in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the canvas is coated with OBA's and you will see it glow or flouresce. This glowing is a clear indication that your canvas was printed on OBA enhanced canvas.

If you are interested in further reading, check out Wikipedia.org : Quote "The Global OBA production for paper, textiles, and detergents is dominated by just a few di- and tetra-sulfonated triazole-stilbenes and a di-sulfonated stilbene-biphenyl. These are subject to fading when exposed long term to UV, due to the formation of optically inactive stilbene cis-isomers found at the center of the molecule.""...continued exposure to UV containing light will actually cleve the molecule and start the process of degredation."

The long and short of this story is that you want to make sure your canvas is OBA free...if you want it to LAST! When we say our canvas is archival and is made to last around 100 years, we really mean it!

We pride ourselves on being a GREEN SHOP. Our canvas is OBA free, our wood is cut from renewable, USA resources, and our coating is non-solvent and biodegradeable.

It's My Birthday Today!!!!!

It's My Birthday - and YOU get the present! Well, you and your customers!

Yep - 48 years ago, my birth mother thought she was going to deliver a boy. Then out I came, and they asked her if she had thought of any girl's names! Fittingly, April 1st is my birthday - and for those of you who know me, you know that it suits me to a T!

What's your present you say? Our last 30% sale for a while I say! From Tuesday, March 31 through Friday, April 3rd at Midnight PST, use coupon code ROXY30 to get 30% off your entire order from Pixel2Canvas. This includes EVERYTHING - except the Special Products. You may use this code as many times as you wish during the sale.

As always - use a placeholder to upload your image, and email us the image later - that way you can buy a few at this price and offer them to your clients as a sales incentive! And remember, you don't need your logo on the front to take advantage of these great sale prices!

And what AM I doing for my birthday? Well, I just picked the kids up from school, and we went to Cinnamon Productions and got a dragon chocolate cupcake, a Hello Kitty chocolate cupcake, a single Triple Chocolate Cheesecake and Triple Chocolate Decadence cake.

CAN YOU TELL THE THEME HERE???? *snerk*

Thank you to EVERYONE on Facebook, Twitter and those who have emailed and called with birthday wishes. You've certainly made my birthday wonderful!

Ok - off to Dave & Busters to bust loose on the SkeeBall machines!!!