In this text I try to answer to all your questions about purchasing and shipping art.

When you contact me by this contact formula, I can send you as much extra photos of the artwork, as you like. Really. You’ll see how it looks like in a room, on the wall, all that:

On a larger image file you’ll get the idea of the painting as an object, paint and canvas as a materials, structure of the wood on which the canvas is stretched - or you can zoom into tiniest details, or see the artwork in a room space, or with an object that gives the scale of it. Depending of your screen settings, there might be a slight difference in colors in live (most screens are a bit bluish if not personnaly set up after buying), but the feedback has been every time the same: the colors are even better, or more intense in live.  

Then, when you’ve made your choise and we agree about the payment method, this comes next: 

I’ll need your full postal adress, telephone number, and the email address, to keep you updated when your artwork is on the way. Telephone number is for the delivery people, so they can fix up the date with you. 

Meanwhile, I am putting on the hanging system, signing my work also behind the canvas, and adding a dedication, if you’ll wish to have one.

The next step is packing, depending of the size of your artwork, and the distance between my studio and your place, but basically I’m following 9 important steps every time:

I buy my professional packing materials mostly from Raja, a company which provides, among other things, special materials for stocking or shipping artworks; like these (1) flat, solid cardboard boxes, or briefcases, if you like. They are very clever items, protecting the artwork’s corners during the shipping and even rough handling, and that’s very important. Also, I wrap the painting in (2) a soft material (silk paper or plastic foam) inside the cardboard briefcase, preventing any scratchmarks on the surface. There will also be some (3) extra layer of solid cardboard or a solid plastic board to protect your piece from any hits. And when all this is placed in the cardboard briefcase, I close it,  and wrap the whole thing in this (4) transparent, waterproof plastic, and put on the (5) blue belts and the FRAGILE scotch. 

By now, all the artworks I’ve sent around the world, they all have arrived safely home. Never anything broken, not even once.

GLOW ready for shipping; one package like this costs me about 40€ in materials.

When the paintings is safely packed, and I can get the (6) exact measurements of it, meaning centimeter sizes ant the weight of it, (7) I can create a ‘new shipping’ on my DB SCHENKER or UPS account. I’ll give these exact measurements & your adress on a shipping formula, and it counts me the price of the transport action. In Europe one large painting door-to-door costs me around 130 - 200€ in economy class + the packing materials. Then I set the date, print out all the shipping documents, tape them on the package, and sit down to wait for the pick up; sometimes they come already in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. This means that I’ll be working on my laptop, having coffee all day, (8) until your artwork has left the building. Like today.

In Europe the economy shipping takes about one week, but it has happened that a package has arrived in less than 48 hours. I guess it depends on how reactive or busy your local delivery companies are. And finally it’s there: you get your delivery, you’ll open it, (9) and you make a little email or a sms to tell me that all is okay. And if you want, send me a photo - but this is absolutely extra, most of my clients don’t do that. 

Sometimes, when the artwork is very small in size (less than 60 x 60 cm) I can send it to you as a postal package. In Europe it takes again about one week or 10 days, it comes to your door as well, and is also safely packed, but without the belts and plastic film around it. When a postal shipping, I add some extra packing materials inside the box, because of handling methods of the post offices. 

So, when you choose your artwork on my website, and you see the total artwork price ’including shipping in Europe’, it means that all the good quality packing materials, the transport company’s services until your door, and a full day of work by me when I’m signing and spraying your new, dearly chosen painting, and making it ready, packing it up - all this already counted in that price. That comes up to 15% of the total price. 

…Voila!