Canvas picture is the trend of the day as it is highly durable and has a fantastic visual effect. The effect of the picture is controlled to a certain extent by the quality of the canvas used and the special imaging effects included by the printer. The equipment used for the purpose is a high resolution digital camera, a computer and a multicolor inkjet printer.

A canvas pictures is one of its kind and excellent for use at home or in the office. It has found various other uses apart from decorating homes. It has a great potential for commercial purposes too. They are being used as sign boards out side stores, in tradeshows, banners, catalogues or brochures. A whole advertisement for a product can be printed and used for a long time.

Custom canvas printing of photographs has become very popular and many of them are opting to get their photos printed on to a canvas with a back ground of their choice. The back ground be a color or a pattern of our choice. At times it can be created by using an old graphic design or even a photo graphs enlarged. The other photographs can be placed on it to give a novel look.

The Art Calendar magazine is accepting entries for their self portrait magazine cover competition. I’m not sure if artists outside of the United States can enter, but I entered it anyway. Entries are submitted online and it’s free to enter, so it was pretty easy.

Here’s my self portrait entry..

Here’s their blurb..
“Entrants will have the chance to win one of three great prizes. Our first place winner will receive a $500 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials and have their artwork featured on the cover of the March issue of the magazine! They will also be interviewed by one of the Art Calendar editors for a one-page profile, where we’ll feature a picture of the winner and their winning work. Our second place winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials and our third place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Blick Art Materials. Both our second and third place finalists will have a half-page profile with an image of their work and a short biography about them inside the magazine.”

Probably the best exhibition I have seen in Australia (coming from a fan of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne). Masterpieces from Paris has 9 Paul Gauguins, 7 Van Goghs and 8 Cezannes. So it’s more than one or two good paintings thrown in with a bunch of weaker paintings like the usual “blockbuster” exhibition. The Van Goghs alone are worth making the effort to see the exhibition.

It has been called the “most valuable collection of art ever to be exhibited in Australia.”

The works come from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris and will be on display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra until April.

Vincent van Gogh – Starry Night Over the Rhone
I was surprised by how fresh this painting looks. For some reason I expected it to be smaller and duller than it really is. This painting was worth the 5 hour drive.

Vincent van Gogh – Bedroom at Arles
I thought this painting would be bigger. The Musée d’Orsay version of Vincent’s bedroom is a little smaller than the first two versions that he did. Still a great painting.

Vincent van Gogh – Portrait of the Artist
The man himself.

Paul Gauguin – Tahitian Women
I probably should like Gauguin more than I do. He did some really good paintings but I don’t think he comes close to Van Gogh or Cezanne. Having said that, I really liked seeing his paintings in the flesh.

I would show some more works but the NGA website was down. In short, Masterpieces from Paris is a must see if you’re an Australian. They’re easily the best paintings in the country at the moment.