Task: Produce a Color-Accurate, Digital File for Online Gallery

As you work your way through the Art Reproduction portfolio and read the descriptions, you’ll notice a recurring theme. Every piece has the same goal, the same measure of success. Accurately reproduce the colors in the original painting.

This painting, titled The Nutcracker is from Massachusetts-based artist, Melody Phaneuf’s solo show at The Guild of Boston Artists.

Compositional Integrity
As you move the slider to see the Before/After, bring your gaze to the bottom of the painting. A small, but important, color correction was needed.

In the actual painting, the red color in the fabric was duller and darker than the red of the nutcracker. This hue and tonal variation is a key component of the composition. With the fabric brighter the composition was destroyed.

As the artist explained, your eye is dragged down into the fabric. This causes the viewer to start looking at the intricacies of the fabric. The viewer’s eye never gets drawn back up to the center of interest, the nutcracker.

A selective color adjustment solved the problem. By editing just the color of the fabric, the composition was restored. The experience of the painting is now as the artist intended.

Accurate Color Essential for Online Sales
For any given exhibition, hundreds of people may visit the gallery and view the paintings in-person. And thousands—if the show is well-promoted—may view the exhibition online. If online sales are the goal, then color-accurate files are essential. The potential collector needs to see a true and accurate representation of the artwork. That “accurate representation” is possible through discerning evaluation and precise color editing of the digital capture.

Client: Melody Phaneuf Paintings
Gallery Representation: The Guild of Boston Artists, Boston, MA
Pictured: The Nutcracker, 20″ x 16″, Oil on Canvas; Available for sale and licensing.

Copyright Belongs to Respective Image Owner