The Artist’s Hand: Why I Hand-Embellish Every Giclée

In an era of mass-produced decor and instant digital reproductions, there is a profound longing for the "tactile"—for the evidence of a human hand moving across a surface.

As I have grown my studio, I made a conscious decision: I did not want to offer simple, flat prints. While the technology of a modern giclée is impressive in its ability to capture color, it lacks the soul of a painting—the way light catches a ridge of oil paint or the subtle energy of a brushstroke.

This is why every limited-edition canvas that leaves my studio is hand-embellished.

A hand-embellished giclée is a soulful bridge between a reproduction and an original oil painting. The process is deliberate and slow. Once a collector selects a composition and size, I bring that canvas to my easel.

Using the same professional-grade oils, heavy-body mediums, and palette knives I use for my primary originals, I begin to "sculpt" the light back into the work. I follow the natural movement of the marsh grasses, the curve of an oyster shell, or the haze of a mountain ridge, layering physical texture directly onto the archival canvas.

This process ensures that no two pieces in a limited edition are identical. When you run your hand across the canvas, you feel the ridges, the peaks, and the valleys of the paint.

More importantly, you see the light change throughout the day. Because oil paint has a different refractive index than ink, a hand-embellished work "wakes up" as sunlight enters a room. It has a physical presence—a tactile energy—that a standard print simply cannot replicate.

To me, hand-embellishing is about more than just aesthetics; it is about integrity. It is my way of personally inspecting, touching, and "blessing" every work before it enters your home. To signify this completion, I hand-title, date, and sign the reverse of every canvas.

When you acquire a work from April Moffatt Fine Art, you aren't just buying a view of the Lowcountry; you are acquiring a piece of the studio’s story.