10 Simple Things Artists Should Know About Reproductions

Here are some simple points that artists considering reproductions should know.  It can save many questions and much cost if you are aware of these simple facts and educate yourself about the points that specifically apply to you.

1. A good reproduction has to come from a good painting.
2. A good reproduction needs a good quality starting file.  If printing digitally, you need a scan or photo of your artwork that is high quality, high resolution and in focus.
3. A good reproduction needs a good substrate – ie: quality canvas or paper, etc.
4. It is generally not a good idea to make a high quality Fine Art reproduction more than 10% larger than the original painting – no matter how good your file is.
5. There is much skill in colour matching your file to your original and this can take time and money before you even get a good proof that you like.
6. Always proof your prints before producing a run and ensure your printer matches the proof you approve.
7. We still don’t have the technology to match paintings exactly – there will always be differences between the original and a print – and that is a good thing!
8. Quality materials – paper, canvas and ink do cost something.  Be prepared to pay for qualiy.
9. Handle prints with care.  The ink sits on the surface of the paper or canvas and will be much more susceptible to scratching than your original.  Consider protective coatings in some cases.
10. Not everything you paint will make a good reproduction.  Consider that paintings that are popular will also likely be good prints.

Small is Beautiful

One of the great things about one current internet trend for artists is the creation of small works.  Although this is not something every artist can do – for many it has built careers while fuelling opportunities for many people to purchase original art who may have felt that an original by a talented artist was outside their economic reach.

 

You can find artwork for as low as $25.00 per painting on-line, and while the very same criteria applies to buying a work at this price as it does to something 100 times more costly – you can and will find great artwork by previously unknown artists.

 

Why the low cost?  For some it is the desire to paint regularly – even daily and to do so they generate small paintings – 6” by 6” on average.  Along with the prolific creation of these works, artists enjoy the challenge and experience of creating small gems – sometimes as studies for larger works, but often complete and finished fine art pieces in their own right.  A few artists have managed to build a career from beginning with small low priced works and now command gallery showings with much higher prices.  Imagine if you owned one of these small early paintings by a successful artist.

 

Also common is that artists who appreciate each other’s work will trade in order to build a collection of work they like from artists all over the world

 

So get out and explore and enjoy the selection of small paintings available on line.

Artwork courtesy of Patricia Arndt - www.dailytrekinart.blogspot.com

Fine Art Explosion

In many ways it is an exciting time to be an artist. The ability to put your artwork out for anyone to view via the internet is allowing artists who have hitherto been reticent to contact galleries or publishers to expose their work a great opportunity.

Of course many would argue that it also makes it more difficult to sift through lesser quality offerings to find those gems that are both interesting and of high quality.

Some of the great tools addressing that problem are finely tuned search engines, blogs with juried selections, art groups forming on line and more. However, I believe that one of the very best things about this explosion is that simply due to the vast number of images out there - everyone is having their senses tuned to what is good. You simply cannot fail to fine tune your own knowledge by looking at the vast amount of work presented.

Art is still in the eye of the beholder - but our creator has given us all an eye for beauty, form and color and although tastes will vary with people - there is a distilling that takes place in each of us the more we are exposed to fine art.

The "daily painting" groups and those offering small paintings and artist trading cards are allowing many people who would never have purchased original art to delve into that and begin to appreciate that intimate contact that exists when an artist and the collector connect.