|
FAQ
Answers:
- Is art a good investment?:
We always say ' buy art because you'll love it day after day, not because you expect to make money off of it in the future." [Top of Page]
- What is limited edition art?:
Limited edition art is simply what the name implies. An artist agrees with a publisher to produce an image in a certain size and edition number for sale to the public (for example 1000 signed and numbered and 100 artist proofs). When the publisher has sold all of the available prints to galleries, the edition is considered sold out. [Top of Page]
- What makes limited edition art valuable?:
Depending on the subject matter, the popularity of the artist, and the medium utilized, prints will go up or down in value according to supply and demand. Generally smaller edition sizes are more desirable to collectors. Many artists have begun to reduce their edition sizes to help collectors realize more value in their art purchases. Limited edition prints are signed by the artist and sequentially numbered so the art buyer may be assured his piece is authentic. A certificate of authenticity is usually included with the print and should be kept by the art buyer for insurance purposes. [Top of Page]
- What is a Lithograph?:
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 the gum arabic penetrate the pores of the 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 photographic [Top of Page]
- What is Archival Paper?:
By Definition: Archival Paper is Acid free and lignin free paper that lasts longer than other papers and holds color well.
Quality Archival Paper can have a lifetime of 100 years or longer. Archival paper is often used for critical, permanent records that must be kept for many years.
Archival Paper Art when framed using Conservation methods can have a lifetime of several hundred years. [Top of Page]
- What is a Giclee?:
Giclee - Giclees have revolutionized the art industry and are considered to be the state of the art form of reproducing the artist's original work. Giclee is a digital method of reproduction where the original artwork is scanned onto a computer disk and a revolutionary process sprays micro jets of pigmented inks onto artist canvas or archival paper. The result of the small pixels of color provide an amazingly smooth and consistent image. With tremendous fidelity to the original, it can portray color, light, shadow and subtleties like no other method. Giclees are produced one at a time. Depending on their size, this intricate printing process can take up to an hour or more for each print. Afterward, Giclees on canvas are coated with a protective finish to further assure their longevity. [Top of Page]
- What does S/N and A/P mean?:
S/N stands for Standard Numbered, A/P stands for Artist Proof. These terms are used throughout the Limited Edition Art Market. The S/N edition will always be larger in size (number of prints available) of reproductions available and they will always be the least expensive. A/P will traditionally be approximately 10-20% of the total number of prints available. For example; if there are 1000 S/N, then there might be between 100 and 200 A/P’s available. These will always have a slightly higher price tag. For most collectors of art, they prefer the A/P’s because there are fewer of them and for the most part they sell out first. Other than the numbering system there are no other differences between these pieces of art [Top of Page]
- What is the Secondary Market?:
Limited Edition Art that is Sold Out is said to be only available on the Secondary Market. (No longer available from the original source or the publisher). These prints may still be in inventory at various dealers and galleries. [Top of Page]
|
|
|
|
