Paintings and Prints explained
Originals
Originals are true paintings. They have not had prints made from them unless stated. They may be the culmination of several sketches or they may be a study for further works. You will find originals in many different media here, for instance watercolour, acrylic, gouache, oil or pastel. Mixed media just means that more than one medium has been used to create the painting. You can see an artist’s ideas and themes developing browsing through these works. Sometimes these paintings take a long time to produce and the ideas and sketches for them can take weeks or months, other times a painting can be an immediate reaction to an idea or inspiration. A painting’s price depends on all these things plus the reputation of the artist - if they are well known and collected the price of their work rises.
Print/ Reproduction
In general these are lithographs and they show brush marks and textures comparable with drawing and painting. These can be created by hand , or more usually nowadays with computer assistance. These can be unlimited/open edition limited edition.
Limited edition Giclee / Limited Edition
A print run usually of a previously declared number. Limited editions are also signed by the artist hence pushing up the value of the print. You see the number of the print and the edition number in the bottom left hand corner of the image. See Ian Scott Massie or Colin Smithson.
Giclée
A term often used to describe prints or prints on canvas made using digital files and inkjet printers. This is now the most common type of limited edition print available. They are produced using pigment based inks ( different from the usual dye based inks found in a normal printer) often on the same kind of surface the original was produced on.
Originals are true paintings. They have not had prints made from them unless stated. They may be the culmination of several sketches or they may be a study for further works. You will find originals in many different media here, for instance watercolour, acrylic, gouache, oil or pastel. Mixed media just means that more than one medium has been used to create the painting. You can see an artist’s ideas and themes developing browsing through these works. Sometimes these paintings take a long time to produce and the ideas and sketches for them can take weeks or months, other times a painting can be an immediate reaction to an idea or inspiration. A painting’s price depends on all these things plus the reputation of the artist - if they are well known and collected the price of their work rises.
Print/ Reproduction
In general these are lithographs and they show brush marks and textures comparable with drawing and painting. These can be created by hand , or more usually nowadays with computer assistance. These can be unlimited/open edition limited edition.
Limited edition Giclee / Limited Edition
A print run usually of a previously declared number. Limited editions are also signed by the artist hence pushing up the value of the print. You see the number of the print and the edition number in the bottom left hand corner of the image. See Ian Scott Massie or Colin Smithson.
Giclée
A term often used to describe prints or prints on canvas made using digital files and inkjet printers. This is now the most common type of limited edition print available. They are produced using pigment based inks ( different from the usual dye based inks found in a normal printer) often on the same kind of surface the original was produced on.
Types of handmade print
Collagraph
A print made up from a collaged block or plate. This is then inked up and printed using a press. The block is often made up of natural materials that wear down as pressure is applied with the press therefore a small number of prints are available. See Hester Cox.
Etching
A method of producing a print by scratching into a ‘ground’ that is put on a metal plate. The plate is then put into acid that bites into the areas that have been scratched, inked up and prints can be taken off it using the pressure of an etching press and damped paper. Etchings are then often hand coloured, this can be with the printing inks themselves or with oil paint, inks or watercolour. See Janis Goodman.
Monoprint
A unique printmaking technique. The artist paints an image in printing ink on a sheet of metal, plexiglas, or other flat nonabsorbent surface and then runs it and a piece of paper through a press, or presses on the back by hand. Reverse monoprints can be made by putting the paper down on the inked surface and drawing on to the back. Only one good impression can be made.
Mezzotint
Mezzotint was the first tonal method to be used in printmaking, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonality by roughening the plate with thousands of little dots made by a metal tool with small teeth, called a "rocker." In printing, the tiny pits in the plate hold the ink when the face of the plate is wiped clean. A high level of quality and richness in the print can be achieved. See Susie Perring
Screen print
Screen printing is a technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image. A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas. See Ian Scott Massie.
A print made up from a collaged block or plate. This is then inked up and printed using a press. The block is often made up of natural materials that wear down as pressure is applied with the press therefore a small number of prints are available. See Hester Cox.
Etching
A method of producing a print by scratching into a ‘ground’ that is put on a metal plate. The plate is then put into acid that bites into the areas that have been scratched, inked up and prints can be taken off it using the pressure of an etching press and damped paper. Etchings are then often hand coloured, this can be with the printing inks themselves or with oil paint, inks or watercolour. See Janis Goodman.
Monoprint
A unique printmaking technique. The artist paints an image in printing ink on a sheet of metal, plexiglas, or other flat nonabsorbent surface and then runs it and a piece of paper through a press, or presses on the back by hand. Reverse monoprints can be made by putting the paper down on the inked surface and drawing on to the back. Only one good impression can be made.
Mezzotint
Mezzotint was the first tonal method to be used in printmaking, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonality by roughening the plate with thousands of little dots made by a metal tool with small teeth, called a "rocker." In printing, the tiny pits in the plate hold the ink when the face of the plate is wiped clean. A high level of quality and richness in the print can be achieved. See Susie Perring
Screen print
Screen printing is a technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image. A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas. See Ian Scott Massie.