By the time a painting is finished, most of the process has disappeared. The masks have been peeled away, the materials have served their purpose, and the only thing left is the finished work. Like most artists, I could simply throw those pieces away.
Instead, I save one of them.
Every Certificate of Authenticity comes inside a custom envelope printed with a fragment from one of the original stencil masks used to create that specific painting. The artwork on the envelope isn’t something I designed afterward or a detail taken from the finished portrait. It comes directly from a tool that was once part of making the piece itself.
Seen on their own, these stencil fragments become something entirely different. A section of an eyelid, the curve of a nose, or a scattering of tiny dots that once controlled where paint could and couldn’t reach the paper. Removed from their original purpose, they read almost like abstract drawings.
Once the painting is complete, I select one of those fragments and use it to create the envelope that will hold its Certificate of Authenticity. Every envelope is different because every painting leaves behind different traces of its process.
I like that the certificate isn’t simply packaged. It’s accompanied by a small piece of the painting’s history. Not the original stencil itself, but a faithful reproduction of something that would otherwise have been discarded.
The finished painting is the destination. The envelope is a quiet reminder of how it got there.