How I Turn Original Paintings into Limited Edition Prints - The Micro Photography Process
When I first started painting it was the smallest details that stopped me.
The textures. The layered brushstrokes. The tiny marks where light settled into the surface. I could lose hours just looking.
I wanted other people to be able to do the same, to get that close to the work. That's where the detail prints began.
The Birth of the Detail Print Series
The idea was simple: capture the intimate moments hidden inside a painting and offer them as artwork in their own right.
Not a reproduction of the full painting, a fragment of it. Magnified. Made into something you could live with on your wall.
Turning that idea into something real was less simple.
A close-up of Féitheacha, I often find myself getting completely lost in its intricate details.
A Redundancy That Became a Turning Point
At the time I'd just been made redundant from a senior role in the VFX industry - one of thousands let go when global productions shut down overnight. I wasn't going to wait for an industry to recover and decide my fate again.
I decided to use the time to build something.
When I committed to creating the detail prints I had no camera. So I rented one. I borrowed lights from a friend. With only one tripod I had to get inventive.
Capturing the details, a photoshoot in 2021, right in my living room, with only one tripod, I had to get a little inventive!
It was messy, imperfect, and absolutely worth it.
The Micro Photography Process
Capturing the tiny details inside a painting is an adventure in itself.
Micro photography is a technique normally used for insects or flowers; applying it to abstract paint on enamel required a lot of experimentation. Many blurred attempts. Many technical frustrations. Gradually I learned how to bring each texture to life - the layers, the marks, the places where metallic accents catch the light differently depending on the angle.
Trying to find the perfect light to capture the details in a corner of my house.
I merged the images in Photoshop, adjusted the sharpness, and eventually held the first prints in my hands.
The detail was there. Everything I'd seen up close was visible.
What the Prints Actually Are
These aren't reproductions. They're a completely different way of experiencing a painting.
Where an original gives you the full composition - the scale, the gesture, the overall movement - a detail print gives you what you'd only find if you pressed your face close to the canvas. The micro marks. The texture of the enamel surface. The layers built up and washed away.
More close-up prints from the original Féitheacha painting. From left to right: Féitheacha II and Féitheacha III
Each print is made on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper - archival quality, made to last. The closer you look, the more you find.
An Accessible Way Into the Work
Original paintings are a significant investment. The detail prints offer a way to bring the same quality and intention into your home at a different price point.
Not a compromise - a different experience of the same work.
If you'd like to know which original painting a specific print comes from - just get in touch. There's always a story behind it.
Explore the print collections → HERE
