commissions & original artwork

an original artwork of one of your favorite stories...

What is the difference between an original artwork and a digital print?

An original watercolor is usually done on cold pressed watercolor paper using permanent pen & ink and gouache watercolor, so the colors are incredibly saturated & you can see the movement of the brush & the water. There can be several original watercolors of a story. This is why you'll sometimes see an original that's doesn't look like the print version that you've seen. But there's going to be only one original that becomes the production master of the print.

An original drawing can come in many different forms, depending on the paper that kai's been working with. Most often, the drawings will be done with permanent ink on an archival bristol, or cold press watercolor paper. There can be several original drawings using the same story. They also usually are hand-signed in pencil. Not many of drawings are used as production masters, though sometimes they'll be used in the published books.  

A digital print of either the watercolors or the drawings is a scan of the original, that is printed on museum quality paper using high quality archival inks. The human eye can perceive more eye coloration in the watercolor than the scanner can. However, we continually research environmentally friendly high quality paper, prints & inks, & have found a way to reproduce the prints in a way that captures the essence of the original. 

a custom story is a gift that goes far beyond the words themselves...

Sometimes the only thing that will do is to have an original story. After collecting a bit of background from you, I'll let the writing start to percolate up. Often, this can be a rapid process, but sometimes, to be fair, it can take several months. (I'd love to give you an exact schedule here, but it really does simply take the time it takes.) It's a mysterious process & the stories that show up are the ones that show up. The story that ultimately speaks to you captures the essence of what you hope to communicate: about yourself, or the other, or the relationship & what it has meant in the heart of you.

begin the collaboration