Each of the painted mats on my artwork  is hand painted and signed by me, personally.  I have no painting assistants, none of the mats are printed in anyway, nothing is glued or pasted on. At least once during every art show I have ever done, I've been asked how or why I extend my images to the mat.  Here's my answer:

Have you ever wondered about the rest of the scene in any painting?  Are you aware that often when an artist prints a reproduction of her work the entire image is not printed?  Sometimes just a section of the original work becomes the art print.  That's, in part, where the idea of painted mats originated with me.  I was doing mats that had regular remarques on them.  In my case, small separate paintings of mountains and cacti, and baskets and pots were what I was painting.  I was getting very bored, very fast, and decided to take an element that was in the piece I was working on at the time and extend it, therefore reproducing elements onto the mat that were in the original complete painting.  I just put my brush down and painted outside the lines.  That simple.  No big deal.  Unless of course you understand the cost and value of a rag mat.

I’ve been extending the artwork to the mat for a number of years now, (with watercolor on the light mats, and acrylic on the dark mats) and while it has become a trademark for my work, not every one of my pieces has this feature. By the way, please don't think it's necessary to purchase a painted mat with my art work.  I understand that not everyone finds this type of mat attractive or suited to their decor, and I know my work will hold it's own without the enhanced mats.  However, it is a nice addition to the matted print because no two are exactly the same, so the mats, when painted, are originals, and are signed as such.  That makes it  possible to have an original painting along with your reproduction!  That also makes it nicer for me as the artist because I'm able to give each of you something a little bit different than I gave the person before you.