miniscapes

COLLECTORS' CORNER: Original, Print, Reproduction

2009-05-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a weekly feature I'm calling "Collectors' Corner." On these blogs I want to gather information that will be interesting to people buying miniature art. This week, I'm going to define the art terms original, print, and reproduction in a brief and general way.

Next week I'll be reviewing The Top Five Ways to Buy Miniature Art. On May 27th, the topic will be Tips on Working with a Miniature Artist on a Commissioned Work. The final segment of my planned four-week seies will be Displaying, Trading and Giving ACEOs.

When you look at any piece of art you need to know how it's been produced. Although there are many ways to make a one-of-a-kind artwork, when you are buying something called an original, it should be a piece created directly on the surface you're buying (called the support) by the artist. So you are buying, for example, a painting done by the artist with brushes and paint.

An original will generally be priced considerably higher than a print or a reproduction. Although there will be only one original, the artist retains the right to reproduce their work and sell the reproductions. If the reproductions are popular, this can actually increase the value of the original.

Today artwork can easily be reproduced digitally, even at home using a good desktop printer. These reproductionsenable more people to enjoy owning and displaying art at reasonable prices.

Giclée (pronounced "zhee-clay"), is a name for a reproduction digital source, often a scan of a painting, using ink-jet printing. They are sometimes also referred to as "fine art prints."

This is where things get confusing, because although a digital reproduction of an original artwork printed on an ink-jet printer is called a "fine art print," there is a completely other type of artwork called a "print." These are pieces that are produced from an image created on one surface (called a matrix) specifically to be transferred to another surface (called a support), usually paper, to make the finished art piece. The surface on which the artist created the original work is generally never intended for public display or sale. It is necessary that the artist be directly involved in at least preparing the matrix for these prints.

Different types of prints are distinguished by the matrix, or the surface the art is created on. The nature of the matrix determines the means of image transfer. Each transfer is referred to as an impression.

A woodcut, for example, is made from an image carved on a block of wood. A linotype uses carved linoleum. With wood or linoleum, ink is applied to the matrix with a roller, then it is pressed onto the paper support to transfer the ink in the pattern of the carved image.

An etching used a metal sheet as the matrix. A lithograph is made using stone. A screen print uses fabric for the matrix.

A monotype refers to a one-of-a-kind print, often one in which the artist is applying ink to the matrix in a specific way for production of a single print, or one where the artist alters the matrix after the production of one print so no two will ever be alike.

An edition in terms of a print refers works printed from a particular plate, or original. Reproductions and prints are sometimes referred to as open editions, meaning there is no limit on the number that will be printed, and limited editions in which an original is retired after production of a pre-determined number of impressions or copies are made. These are often number as 25/50, meaning the 25th impression out of a total of 50 impressions made.

All these differences should be reflected in the prices charged for a type of artwork. Generally an original has the highest price, a limited-edition print will be priced higher than an open edition, and a print will be priced higher than a reproduction.

Buy what you feel comfortable with and enjoy your art work. If you love it, it's the perfect type of art for you.

I'm the Curator of an Etsy Treasury

2009-05-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

Just pulled together a collection of indulgent items priced under $10. It's posted in the Treasury section of Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=57839 Please, go check it out. It's got some fantastic gift ideas, inexpensive enough that you don't need a reason to give.

What is Miniature Art? Vines

2009-05-10T23:19:00.001-07:00

Vines
Originally uploaded by miniscapes

This is a painting of a vineyard done in a relatively painterly style for miniature art. The emphasis is on color and composition and the methods of representing the scene with brush and oil paint is evident. Although the size of the painting may require the viewer to draw close to examine it, it is not so detailed that the entire scene cannot be appreciated with a quick look with the naked eye.

What is Miniature Art? Vintner's Vista

2009-05-10T23:15:00.001-07:00

Vintner%27s-Vista
Originally uploaded by miniscapes

This is an example of a highly detailed miniature landscape. Notice the detail on the distant hills, in the trees and buildings. It is executed in a manner that accentuates the representation and not the hand of the artist.

WHAT IS MINIATURE ART?

2009-05-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

A miniature portrait? Dollhouse decor? Painted figurines? A Persian miniature?
A Russian lacquer box? They are all miniature art.

In western art history, a progression is accepted from illuminated manuscripts to miniature portraiture, and on to today's contemporary miniature revival.

The term "Miniature" as applied to the miniature portaits most popular from the 17th to 19th centuries, actually comes from the Latin term minium, meaning the red lead pigments prominently used in illuminated manuscripts. (To color with minium was the Latin verb miniare, conjugated to the past participle of miniatus, which became the Italian term for the art of illuminating a manuscript, miniatura.)

It's not just size that matters. The common feature of miniature art is the fine detailing. There is so much attention to detail in a good miniature that it can only be fully appreciated under magnification, where more will be revealed than can be seen with the naked eye.

In my painting "Ponte Vechio" you can actually see into some of the windows and archways of Florence, though many of these portals are smaller than a letter on this page.

Purple-Storm

2009-05-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

Purple-Storm
Originally uploaded by miniscapes

This painting is only 3" high x 2.5" wide. Why would it not be a Miniature Painting? Is it because it doesn't have any people in it? Find out in Miniscape's Miniature Monday post on May 13th: What is a Miniature Painting.

Short Beach - 3.25"X2.25" unframed

2009-05-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

Short Beach - 3.25"X2.25" unframed
Originally uploaded by miniscapes

Why could this be considered a Miniature Painting? Is it because of the red paint I've used?

Read Miniature Monday's post on What is Miniature Painting on May 13th to find out!

FRESH BREATH OF LIFE FOR MINISCAPES' BLOG

2009-05-09T16:21:00.001-07:00

I started this blog with high expectations, but not much direction, in January of 2009. Now spring is here, it's May, and I have a solid plan of how to make this site lively, interesting and original. I want this to be a gathering place for anyone interested in contemporary miniature art and the culture of do-it-yourself-ing.

In the coming months I will be offering not only notes on my painting experience and new work, but an overview of miniature art in the United States today from one artist's perspective, but a source of information for collectors, and an exchange of favorite sources for things we may not need, but that we all love, made by loving hands one piece at a time.

I'm going to start with a day-of-the-week schedule, so you can come back and enjoy the information you're most interested in. On Monday nights I'll be presenting Miniature Monday.
Wednesday I'll bring together ideas and information on buying, collecting, giving, and displaying miniature art. And on Fridays I'll profile other artists and crafters.

Miniature Monday will begin with a four-part introduction to contemporary American miniature art exploring What is Miniature Art, Where and How is Miniature Art Shown Publicly, How is Miniature Art Produced, and The ACEO Phenomenon.

The Collectors Corner on Wednesday will go along with this format in its first four weeks. Topics will be Original, Print, Reprodution on May 13; The Top Five Ways to Buy Miniature Art; Working with a Miniature Artist on a Commissioned Work; and Displaying, Trading and Giving ACEOs.

Sharing the mini-art

2008-12-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

I just visited the Yahoo Miniature Art Group (a wonderful resource for anyone bitten by the mini) where there weren't many posts the last couple weeks, so I decided to put myself out there with a post about the reactions I've been getting to my miniature paintings. I've been finding a lot of interest. Once people see a few, and especially pick one up, examine and handle it, they start thinking of the possiblities for them in their life -- for gifts, at your workplace, in small spaces, grouped together. Today a friend of a friend was speculating about a series of three weeks, a triptych of sorts, showing a progression through time of a scene IN MINIATURE! She's smitten.

So in posting about how much interest -- dare I even say excitement -- I'm finding for small paintings, it occurs to me I should add to my to-do list a compilation of sites helpful about miniatures and little paintings in general to be posted and handed out.

Starting some more seascapes/beach paintings. They've been quite popular, and I can see why. Not only are they beautiful, but they evoke pleasant memories and peaceful feelings for so many people.

Starting My Etsy Store

2008-12-10T22:56:00.000-08:00

In October I decided to take a cyber-plunge and start a web site featuring my miniature and little paintings and offering them for sale. It's up and certainly running at www.pollypowellart.com, and I invite you to visit it often and sign up for updates on new art. Well, one thing leads to another, so if I had a web site and paintings to offer on it, I might as well hit some in-person sales before Christmas. So I found Handmade NW (www.handmadenw.com), a cooperative who do very good things and was accepted as a vendor for one of their shows. It was suggested to me by my fellow artisans that I explore ACEOs and - gasp - reproductions of my work.
Brick Wall: I have this view (nurtured in art school) that there's "fine art" and then there's the whole world of business and craft and catering to a buyer and -- worst of all -- utilitarian items. There is a huge chasm separating the two, and we all know which side it's best to be on. Reproduce my work? Prints?
There's another side to this brick wall, and that's is my art worthy of reproduction? If you're running off a batch of these you have to have confidence that a batch of people are going to want a copy of it, are going to make a place to display it or give it as a gift. But I've had this pain when some of the paintings I've really liked and felt were milestones for me have sold and I can no longer visit them at will. What to do? Why not do both, pursue those juried art shows in real galleries, reach for that masterpiece, and at the same time paint the necklace, spice up the reproduced ACEO, do the quickie painting to keep the cost down? They are only separated in my mind. I could have another web presence.

I started my Etsy store yesterday: Miniscapes. I chose the name because I paint landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, whateverscapes in miniature, and because I love miniatures because to really appreciate one you have to stop a minute, step close, and allow yourself to go into the world portrayed in it: a mini escape. I love miniatures because they're never quite reality, they always show the creative hand of the artist, so I am the miniscape artist, kind of like a little Houdini.

I've already learned some things by experience. Number one is I can waste a ton of time taking, transferring, editing, choosing, moving and then uploading and arranging photos of my products. I need to develop a system of what views of an item I need and where it will be stored on my computer with what label. I'll have to spend some time on that.

Lesson Number two is to choose a lead photo of an item that focuses closely and clearly on the strongest feature of what I'm offering for sale. I put on a photo of a necklace (my first and only item in my Etsy store so far) that displayed the piece draped over a vase. I thought it looked quite artful on my computer screen by itself, but when it was displayed on a search page it looked like I was selling the vase. No one who clicks on that photo is going to be interested in buying the necklace. I need to focus the seekers' attention.
So organization and efficiency. And a schedule. This is quite an undertaking. I have two web sites to maintain, two e-mail locations to check, and an awful lot to learn and to manage.
And now added to the to-do list is letting people know about this blog, linking everything together a little more tightly. It's almost too much for a fifty-plus-year-old technical underacheiver, but I know how good it feels when it all works.