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Welcome to collectors of fine art everywhere!
What Is A Fine Art Print?
Historically a fine art print is made by an artist who does not make
a print from an original painting. He conceives and executes it as
an original piece. This generally involves one or more of the
classic printmaking techniques like lithography (stone or plate),
intaglio processes (i.e. etching, aquatint, engraving, Mezzotint,
collagraph, drypoint), relief printing like lino- and woodcut,
screen-printing and mono-print or digital manipulation. The artist
cuts, draws, engraves or otherwise creates the image. His
intention is to create a new one.
These kinds of original printmaking techniques are very time
consuming and labor intensive for the artist. Because these prints
are so difficult to produce, and they are hand pulled by the artist
himself in very limited numbers they tend to be much more
expensive to purchase than mechanical reproductions. On the
other hand, they are highly collectible, not only holding their value,
but accruing in value. Original prints by Robert Rauschenberg,
Jasper Johns, Robert Goodnough, Fairfield Porter, Pablo
Picasso, Marc Chagall, and other can sell for thousand of dollars.
There are many artists who are contemporary fine art print
makers, like Donald Depudyt, Michael Platt, and E.J. Montgomery,
currently producing traditional fine art prints whose work can still
be purchased at reasonable prices, and are a wise investment.
Emerging artist, Tina Mamoser, is a printmaker and painter. She
is an artist to watch, and her work a good addition to any
collection.
In a fine art print that is hand pulled the viewer literally "sees" the
hand of the artist.
Woman With Poodle by Paul Resika
This print is currently available from Ruth Robertson Fine Art
This is especially true in the lithograph "Woman With A Poodle" by
Paul Resika. The rich quality of the hand applied ink to the paper,
and the quality of line used by the artist set this apart from any
photo mechanically produced print.
Sometimes art dealers or auction houses will offer a print by a
famous artist such as Picasso or Chagall that is described as a
re-strike. A re-strike is a print hand pulled from the plate, stone or
block created by the original artists like Picasso or Chagall. It is
the same plate, stone or block used by these artists to pull the
original, signed and numbered edition. It was customary for artists
to give the plate, stone or block to their printer as payment for the
signed, and numbered edition pulled from the plate. The printer
would then be able to earn income by printing the images and
selling them unsigned. If a signature is found at all on a re-strike it
is always found in the plate, stone or block, and is part of the print.
The artist never signs re-strikes in graphite or any other medium.
Re-strikes are very collectible, especially if one can find them of
well known images by famous artists.
There are many artists and publishers who claim to be selling fine
art prints when in reality they are selling reproductions of a work of
art. Most commonly these are called giclees. Giclees can be very
beautiful and a less expensive alternative to buying the original
work of art, but they are not fine art prints even though they may
be advertised as such. They have not established themselves as
a collectible work of art. They are generally considered a
decorative item.
There is an exception to giclees being a reproduction of a work of
art. Some artists are having giclees made of their work and then
hand embellishing the giclee. Hand embellishing makes each one
a unique work of art, and a collectible work. This art form became
popular among artists in the mid to late 1990's, and continues to
be a popular form of the altered image.
If you are interested in finding original fine art prints, you might try
attending art exhibitions at Art Schools, Universities, and
Community Colleges. You can also visit the following websites:
Tandem Press
Gemini G.E.L.
Tamarind Press
Goya Girl
Brandywine Workshop
Please email me with any questions that you might have.
Ruth Robertson
Ruth Robertson Fine Art
www.ruthrobertson.com
ruthrobertsonart@aol.com
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