The Process

Medium, Techniques, and Printing:

For his fish drawings, Paul uses Caran d'Ache and Prismacolor pencils, and original work is done in colored pencil applied to 4-ply vellum Bristol board. Watercolor washes and acrylic paint are used to a lesser extent for added depth and contrast. To illustrate fish, he employs a variation of an art technique used in Europe during the Italian renaissance called "sgraffito". When used with colored-pencil, this technique is known as "subtractive drawing", which allows Paul to achieve the anatomical detail needed for fish.

Giclée reproductions of Paul's original art are of the highest color quality and resolution available. The word "Giclée" is derived from the French word meaning "that which is sprayed or squirted". The nozzles on the Inkjet printer that "squirt" ink onto the paper create a resolution of no less than 300 dots-per-inch. The diameter of these nozzles has an opening one-fifth the diameter of an average human hair. Aside from paper texture, because of their color accuracy and detail, most people cannot tell a Giclée print from the original.

The beauty of Giclée prints goes beyond just exceptional color-match and detail. The ink used for giclée printing is pigment-based, and when used on acid-free, archival paper, the prints will last over 100 years without fading.