Nothing for Granted: A Screenprint Built for Realism Collectors
Realism and screenprinting don't often sit in the same sentence. Screen printing is a process built around flat colour and hard registration, which makes true realism — the kind with tonal gradation, depth, and lifelike detail — genuinely difficult to pull off by hand.
Nothing for Granted is the most intricate screen print produced to date in this practice, and it was built specifically to prove that realism and hand-pulled screen printing aren't mutually exclusive.
What makes this piece technically different from a typical screen print?
Twenty-nine individual colour passes went into the final work, each one hand-pulled and hand-registered at Artrite Screen Printing.
Achieving realistic tonal transitions - the kind of gradual shift in colour and shadow that reads as lifelike rather than graphic - through a process built around distinct, flat colour layers takes a level of colour separation and ink-mixing precision that most screen prints never attempt.
This is why the piece took a dedicated team of colour and ink specialists at Artrite to execute.
Nothing for Granted - Beginning
Why does the sold-out original matter here?
The original artwork behind this screenprint has already sold, which means the edition itself is now the only way to own the piece — there's no original competing with it in the market.
For a collector specifically searching for realism in New Zealand art, or realism with a natural or bird-focused subject, that's a meaningful detail: the definitive version of this composition is the print, not a competing one-off.
Nothing for Granted - Deception
Who is this piece actually for?
Anyone searching specifically for realist bird or nature-focused art from a New Zealand artist, rather than the more surreal or narrative-abstract work this practice is often associated with. It's also relevant for collectors interested in technical printmaking achievement specifically. This is a piece that demonstrates what hand-pulled screen printing can do at its most demanding.
Nothing for Granted - Inception
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FAQ
How many colours were used in Nothing for Granted? Twenty-nine individual hand-pulled colour passes, produced with Artrite Screen Printing.
Is the original painting still available? No, the original has sold. The screenprint edition is the only way to own this composition.
Is this considered a realism piece or a surrealist piece? It's built around realist technique and subject matter, distinct from the more narrative-surrealist work found elsewhere in the collection.