Art Prints - Buying Art Prints As Gifts

Art impresses us and inspires us. It is highly valued both emotionally and financially. Sometimes, we cannot afford to buy original artworks. This is where art prints come in.

These are much more affordable alternatives to artworks. They have the same beauty and appeal, but can fit almost any gift budget no matter whether you are buying a birthday gift or a Christmas gift. Before you go shopping, you must know the basics.

What are art prints?

These are printed artworks. The original artwork is depicted with great accuracy on a certain type of material, usually paper. The print is actually not regarded as a copy of the work since it is not a reproduction created by another artist. The formal word used to define such a print is impression.

Any graphic artwork can have an impression. You can find impressions of drawings, paintings and photographs. There are different techniques used for making these impressions. The different techniques define the different types of art prints. The most widely used techniques include lithography, screen printing, giclee or ink-jet printing, and digital printing.

How closely do art prints resemble the originals?

In general, the impressions are made to be exactly the same.
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The quality of the prints and their resemblance to the original depend primarily on the technique, equipment and materials used. It should be noted that some techniques are more suitable for certain artworks than others.

For instance, giclee printing is considered to produce top quality impressions of paintings as it uses actual ink in a wide array of colours. Digital printing, on the other hand, is the preferred technique for creating art prints of digital photographs.

As a buyer, you should pay close attention to the printing technique used and to the materials as well. Most impressions are made on paper, but paper differs in terms of texture, appearance and quality. Archival paper is among the best options for impressions as it is durable and totally acid free.

How do you buy art prints for gifts?

As a start, you need to consider the preferences and taste of the recipient of the gift. The good news is that there is something for everyone in the market. You can go for a famous painting by an impressionist, for an impression of contemporary artwork or for a print of a photo of the person's favourite band.

When buying art prints, you should consider the size of the pieces. Check whether they come framed or not. Needless to say, framed impressions are the ideal gift options.

Purchasing Original Paintings & Art Prints

Whether you're seeking original paintings or art prints from noted artists or even inexpensive reproductions, the more information you have the better decisions you will make concerning selection, condition, conservation, and framing of the pieces you'll acquire.

The cardinal rule is to always buy what you love. If you have an initial positive response to the art, then chances are you will appreciate the work more as you live with it. Fortunately, today, different venues through which fine art is presented offer many opportunities to enjoy art in your own environment regardless of your budget. Not everyone is able to consider the acquisition of fine art originals. However, a number of printing techniques and reproductions make available a good deal of pieces with the aesthetic value we all enjoy along with varying collector values.

Original Paintings

An original painting, be it created with watercolor, oil, acrylic or some other substance, is generally considered to be one in which the paint is applied using a brush or other means of application to an appropriate surface to derive a single work of art. Its value is based not only by its aesthetic, circumstantial, or historical attributes but also by the fact that it is one-of-a-kind.

Original Art Prints

Some artists utilize methods of printing in which different materials such as linoleum or wood blocks, stones, copper, steel, aluminum, plexiglass plates, or silkscreens, are utilized to apply ink. While a number of prints might be generated from the same plate, each is considered to be an original print due to variations inherent in the application process by which each piece is produced.

Collagraphs are created through the construction of collage-like "boards" which are used like a plate to apply the ink to paper. Louis Pohl developed his own special technique of collagraphic printing utilizing mixed media to achieve the varying textures and intensities that he felt were lacking in the traditional methods being used. The short life expectancy of the boards generally limited the number of prints that could be generated in this fashion and along with the individual variations from one print to the next this provided the different attributes upon which the individual prints are valued. If you liked this information and you would certainly like to get more facts regarding dog word art kindly see our page.

Serigraphs are created by a process of silkscreening which allows for more accurate and higher-quantity printing of the master than is provided with collagraphs. In traditional Lithography, the image is created or transferred onto a limestone or photosensitive plate, inked up with rollers and printed by hand on paper on a large flat press. Digital Art Prints are created directly on a computer with an image or drawing application, then printed on an inkjet printer on archival quality paper.

Most original art prints are printed in editions, bearing a number and the signature of the artist certifying the total number of prints that were made for the particular work. For example, a print bearing the number 3/10 would indicate that it is print number three of a total of ten prints in this edition.

Printing Processes for Art Prints

You've finally bought that art print you've been eyeing and are looking forward to showing it off to your visitors and friends, but before you start hanging it on the wall, you might want to spend a minute or two to consider how these prints were made. That piece of art that you bought is certainly not the original. It is a reproduced print made from the original art work. Art prints are created using different printing processes, and you may have come across these different terms as you were making enquiries and shopping for your print. Before making your purchase, it would be helpful to know the printing process by which your art print was made. Below is a brief description of some of the more common printing methods for art prints:

Giclee Print
pronounced as zhee-klay, it is a French word which means a spray or spurt of liquid. The name is descriptive of the way in which the print is created. A giclee is basically a digital printout of the original art work, created from digital scans of the original.

Once the scan is made and the image digitally archived, a sophisticated printer then makes a high resolution printout with high quality inks. The printer does this using a fine stream of ink, resulting in vivid, pure color with exceptional detail. A giclee can be printed in various sizes and onto various mediums like canvas and photo paper.

An advantage of giclee printing is the high level of accuracy and richness in color. Another advantage is that it enables artists to make easy reprints of their work to be sold, as and when required, or in bulk. It also avoids the heartache of selling off the original painting.

Lithograph
A lithograph works on the principle that water and oil do not mix. A hand-made lithograph is a print made by drawing with an oily substance such as crayons and pencils on porous stone or metal plates. An Oil-based ink is then applied to the moistened stone that adheres only to the lines drawn. The plates are then pressed onto a sheet of paper to produce the final print. If you loved this post and you would like to obtain additional information regarding word art prints kindly pay a visit to the page.

Serigraph
Serigraphy, or screenprinting, is a stencil printmaking process in which high quality paper is placed beneath a screen (or stencil). Ink is then applied over the screen using a squeegee. The screen has certain portions cut out so that the ink can be transferred onto the paper below. This process is then repeated for different screens and color until the final picture is complete. Screenprinting can be used on a variety of surfaces such as textiles, ceramics, metal, wood and paper and is commonly used in industries from clothing to product labeling.

Monoprint
A monoprint or monotype is a printing process whereby the artist paints a design onto a plate using a low drying ink. The image is then printed before the ink dries. One characteristic of monoprints, as the term "mono" implies, is that only one unique impression can be made using this process. That is, no two prints will ever be alike.

Canvas Transfer
A canvas transfer is a process of transferring an art work from a print onto a canvas. A special chemical is applied onto the art print, which when dried, can be separated from the paper and transferred onto a canvas. The canvas is then stretched across a frame and an artist will then apply brushstrokes to create the texture found on the original art work. The end result is artwork on the canvas that looks very much like the original.