Definitions:
Artist Proof - ( AP ) - Often numbered, these copies of a limited edition mechanical aspects of the printing process. Once prized as the best quality copies (see Lithography). The Artist Proofs now exist soley as part of the printmaking tradition and are of a quality simular to the standard edition prints.
Artist Proofs are distinguished by the abbreviation AP and are numbered separately; they often represent 10 percent of an edition and are slightly more expensive than prints in the regular edition or signature edition.
The Artist Proofs generally appreciate in value, as is the case with "Glory At The Top", which was hightened by the hand signatures of Vonetta, Jill, and the Artist.
Canvas Print - A reproduction in which an image is printed directly onto canvas . These prints can be produced using offset lithography, digital printint or other methods . Sometimes artist will add brush strokes directly onto the canvas after the piece has been printed .
Certificate of Authenticity - A warrenty card or statement of authenticity of a limited edition print that records the title of the work, artist name, the edition size and the prints number within the edition, the number of artist proofs and the release date. It is a guarantee that the edition is limited and that the image will not be published again in the same form.
Coated Paper - Paper manufactured with a thin surface coating of clay. This coating produces an extremely sharp, finely detailed image because it prevents ink penetrating the paper fibers.
Commission - To order an original work from an artist.
Condition - A prints physical condition influences its market value. Condition typically is described as ranging from mint - completely undamaged and original - to poor. A poor - condition print may be creased, torn, water or tape - blemished, trimmed smaller than its original size or other wise damaged.
Conservation Framing - Methods of mounting and framing that preserve a print in original mint condition. One important aspect of conservation framing is that all material in actual contact with the print contains no chemicals that might eventually damage the paper or the inked image: these materials are usually described as " acid free ". UV protection is also considered in conservation framing.
Countersignature - Signature of someone other than the artist that adds either authenticity or historical value to a limited edition print . Dealers - Galleries , collectable shops or individuals who carry and sell artwork. Authorized dealers are those who by signed agreement, carry and sell the artwork represented bt certain print publishers.
Distributor - A person or company responsible for marketing and selling prints and supplying prints to galleries and frame shops . Somtimes a publisher and distributor are the same entity.
Edition - The number of printed copies made of an original work. The standard phrase " edition size " therefore refers to the number of copies, not the prints physical dimensions. Edition size generally does not include artist proofs or special edition copies that might be made , these special editions such as publishers proofs, signature editions, etc.,are all numbered separately.
Giclee - Giclee is French meaning "to spray on" and pronounced, 'ja-clay.'
The giclee process produces a highly saturated and dynamic color range that is an exact color representation of an original work of art. Many times it is produced on the same watercolor paper or canvas as the original. Placed side by side it may take the artist to distinguish the original from the giclee. The giclee is an affordable option to buying original works of art.
Hand - embellished - A term used to described prints to which an artist has added color or washes after the piece has been printed.
Issue Price - The original price of a limited edition print when first offered for retail sale.
Image Size - Actual dimensions of a printed image. This refers only to the image itself and not the size of the paper it is printed on.
Limited Edition Print - A reproduction of an original work of art that is signed and numbered by the artist. The total number of prints is fixed or limited by the artist or the publisher. Limited edition can be offset lithographs, digital prints, serigraphs or other type of reproduction.
Lithography - Originally , a method of printing using a smooth slab of porous stone upon which an image is drawn with a grease crayon. After the drawing is made, the artist or printer treats the entire surface with solutions of gum arabic and nitric acid. The gum arabic surrounds the grease and at the same time chemically prevents ink from adhering to the undrawn areas; the nitric acid helps the grease and gum arabic penetrate the pores of stone.
The plate is then wiped down with a solvent such as turpentine to remove all grease from the surface. To print a lithograph, the printer flushes the surface with water, which is absorbed by the undrawn area but the greasy drawn area rejects. The printer then applies oil-base ink with a roller , and since water will not unite with oil, the ink sticks only to the grease and thereby forms the image that can be pressure transferred to paper. In a more modern, mechanized process called Offset Lithography, the image to be printed is photographically applied to the plate, transferred to a rubber roller called a blanket and from the blanket onto paper.
Offset lithography is today the most widely used method of printing. Because the older method brings paper and printing plate into direct contact with one another, the plate suffers a certain degree of wear as each copy pulled and this is why low-number prints and artist proofs traditionally have been more desirable than copies made toward the end of the press run. Plate wear is not a signicant factor in offset lithography so there is no longer any actual difference in quality between the first print of the edition and the last one.
Margin - The white unprinted area surrounding a printed image.
Numbered - Each copy of a limited edition print is marked with two numbers separated by a slash mark. The first number identifies the particular copy, and the second indicates edition size: 42/950, for instance, identifies print number 42 of a 950 copy edition.
Original Painting - A one - of - a - kind image created by an artist that often sells for thousand of dollars.
Overall Print Size - The physical dimensions of the paper upon which a print is made.
Poster - A reproduction that is usually printed in unlimited quantities with a lower grade of paper and inks than limited or open edition prints.
Publisher - A company whose business is to produce and market prints.
Remarque ( re mark ) - A small original drawing or sketch made by the artist in the margin of a print. Remarques originally were used to identify certain stages in the process of preparing a plate for printing: now however , they represent means by which artist personalize prints.
Secondary Market Value - The value of a print , determined by supply and demand, after all copies have been sold at original issue price.
Signature - The artist's signature applied to the original work as it appears in a print - or more frequently, the artist's signature in pencil on each copy of a print.
Sold Out - Said of a limited edition print once it is no longer available at issue price and is being sold instead at secondary market prices .
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