Q) What do I do if I have some problem with my order?

A) First consult our support page. If the answer is not there then contact us directly. Our contact information is on the support page.

Q) How can I purchase an original?

A) Shipping originals is a careful business and the insurance company requires the shipper to do the packing themselves. Therefore, we use a two step checkout.

• First, go ahead and start the purchase through the cart. This way we can get your address and get a quote on the shipping.
  
  The default amount for shipping is set to $500. Complete the transaction as if the shipping were $500. Your card will not be charged.
  
• Second, when we get the quote, we will put in the real amount. The total will now reflect the correct price for the subtotal plus taxes and shipping.

We will deliver the painting to the shipper and only then will your card be charged.

Q) Why are there so few originals for sale?

A) Two reasons:

1. They are almost all sold!
   
2. Many of them have not been scanned yet and will not be made available for sale until they have. If you want one, you can pre-order it and we will have it scanned next.»»       I want to purchase an originals.

Q) Can I buy a limited edition print?

A) Yes.

Some of Barb’s prints will be available as signed, numbered, limited edition prints.

These will be printed on heavy, acid balanced, archival quality, watercolour paper. They will be signed and numbered outside the image area.

A very few of Barb’s paintings will be available as signed, numbered, limited edition prints with hand done enhancements.

These prints are each hand enhanced by Barb after the print has been made. Usually the enhancement is to add metallic paint to the giclée, where the original had metallic paint. For instance, in Empty Chairs the fireplace is surrounded by brass. In the signed, numbered, limited edition, enhanced print, Barb has enhanced the print by going over the brass parts of the fireplace with brass paint.

Q) Why are some of the pictures so clear you can see the canvas and the brush strokes and others are fuzzy and indistinct?

A) This is the difference between a very expensive, very high resolution colour corrected scan and a photo taken on a digital camera. As soon as we get the high res scan done, we replace the low res files from the digital camera. Please know that when you are looking at a fuzzy shot that does not look so good, that the painting itself looks great. It is just the photo.

Q) Why do you even put the pictures up if you don’t have high res scans?

A) 1) There was quite a back list. If we waited to do them all it would be a long time before we went online. We decided to go online with what we had and just work really hard to catch up. We will scan the ones that people order first and do the rest as time permits.

A) 2) Barb just keeps on painting! Stay tuned as we run the perpetual race of keeping up with Barb.

Q) What are Colour Laser Prints and why are they so expensive?

A) Colour Laser Prints CLP are prints that are printed on card stock from the same expensive, high resolution, colour corrected scans that the giclées are printed from. This means that the CLP is definitely high enough quality to mount and frame. You can easily make out brush strokes and see the texture of the canvas that the original is painted on.
They are shipped flat, sealed in a protective sleeve and wrapped thoroughly to protect the print during transit.

Q) How big are the Colour Laser Prints?

A) Postal regulations limit the size to a maximum of about 11.5” by just over 17”. We make the print size as large as we can while maximizing the quality of the print.

Q) Where are the faces?

A) There are several reasons why Barb does not include faces on most of her paintings.

• She thinks that by completing the face, she is fixing the experience in the mind of the viewer.
  Instead, she wants to create a sense of openness—engaging the minds eye.
  
  
  
• By supplying the faces, she is afraid of supplying too much information.
  By leaving the faces open – unfinished, she allows the viewer to “fill in the blank”.
  
  
• She does not want the painting to be about the face or for the expression on the face to draw attention away from the rest of the painting.
  
  
• She is trying to depict something more universal. She thinks that by showing faces, it makes the paintings about this person in this situation. By not showing faces, she makes her pictures more about life and the situations we all find ourselves in.

Consider the Mona Lisa. How much energy has been spent on trying to figure out her enigmatic expression? Contrast that with Meditate . In Meditate, the actual person being depicted is Barb herself. But with no face, it could be just about anyone.

Q) Can Barb actually do faces?

A) Yes. In the case of Serenity on the Bus , showing the woman’s face is integral to showing the complete sense of serenity that the woman had, as she was riding the bus with her child, whom was feeling out of sorts.

Q) I am not sure I want to commit to a giclée without seeing the art first.

A) We suggest you order a colour laser print first. When you see the quality of the image and the scan we are sure you will want to order the giclée.

Q) Why do some images have cards and colour laser prints while others do not?

A) The process of scanning and printing is an expensive and time consuming one. It requires several print runs to check image quality and to perfect colour. Paintings that already have cards, posters, shirts and other things, have already been scanned and colour corrected. The rest are still in the queue.
And every time we almost catch up – she paints more!
Want to get cards or colour laser prints of a particular image? Email us to let us know and we will shuffle things around to the best of our ability to speed the process along.

Q) When will cards be ready?

A) Cards are generally ready within a couple of weeks after a high res scan and colour correction is done.

Q) Barb’s paintings have gone all over North America. Why are so many of the originals in this collection located in Victoria and Vancouver?

A) We started the process of building this web site early in 2006. We have located and scanned as many of the originals as we can. However, we have not been able to locate or retrieve many of the earlier canvases. We are doing our best to add these images as time goes on.

If you have a Barb original and would be willing to loan it to us long enough to scan it, please contact us, we would love to hear from you.

Q) I am not sure I want to commit to a giclée without seeing one first?

A) We recommend that you go to a gallery, an art dealer or a custom framer and ask to see a giclée there. They will be able to show you one and tell you about them.

If this is not practical or if you want to see a sample of our giclées, we have a sample program. These are pieces of real giclées that have been cut up into pieces that can fit in a standard business envelope. We will be happy to send you a sample .

Q) Do Barb’s Art Giclées come with a Certificate of Authenticity?

A) All of Barb’s Art Giclées come with a Certificate of Authenticity suitable for stapling or mounting on the back of the frame. Signed and limited edition prints have signed and numbered certificates as well.

Q) How long does it take to get from “Latest News” to being for sale on the website?

A) This is normally a very quick process. It often happens in a few days. If it takes longer, there is usually a good reason. Sometimes, Barb decides to make some changes. Sometimes, she wants to group the image with some other painting or project. Sometimes, she will take a new painting up to leave with her Dad for a month. If you see an image and want to know when it will be up, please email and ask.

Q) What do all of these javascripts do?

A) Some of the javascripts help to run the store. The rest are for tracking statistics about the site. The site does not need to have javascript enabled to work. However, it does look much better with scripts turned on.

Q) What happens if I change my mind?

1. ) Before my order has been shipped:
   • A) Just email us to cancel the order.
   
   
2. ) After my order has been shipped:
   • A) Return the product, unopened, at your expense, for a full refund.
   
   
3. ) After my order has been opened and inspected:
   • A) Repackage the order in secure packaging and ship it back to us.
     • We will inspect it carefully for damage. If we can return it to stock, we will. There will be a modest 10% restocking fee.
       
     • We regret that if there is any damage, we will not be able to give a refund.