Q&A

The meaning of the phrases below often stump buyers of original art or fine art prints. We thought we’d spare you the time or embarrassment of having to ask someone, or Google, by providing you with some simple explanations.

 

Original Art

Original art is a painting, or other work of art, uniquely created by an artist, and not a reproduction. Paintings can be photographed, or digitally captured, to make fine art prints in any number of sizes, and on a variety of papers and canvas.

Copyright & Ownership

When an artist creates an original painting, they own both the physical artwork and the copyright to the work. The copyright is an intellectual property right, while the physical artwork is a personal property right. When the physical artwork is sold, the copyright does not transfer to the buyer. The artist retains the exclusive right to reproduce the artwork, including duplications, reprints, and other forms of copying. 

All of our paintings and prints are accompanied by a signed and dated Certificate of Authenticity.

 

Giclée Prints 

Most often pronounced ‘zhee-clay’. This term describes a process of creating prints on quality archival paper or canvas from an original painting using a digital file. This process requires a high resolution inkjet printer and superior quality archival inks. The paintings are photographed in a specially lighted studio with overhead cameras to capture the sharp and detailed image to create the file. This process reveals extraordinary detail from the painting and very accurate colors. 

Giclée printed on fine paper or canvas, makes an excellent alternative to spending a great deal of money on an original painting, while still having a beautiful piece of art to enjoy.  A print made with this process, being part of a signed and numbered edition, often increases in value. It too is art. All prints come with certificate of authenticity.

 

Archival Paper for Fine Prints

To meet the high benchmark to qualify as archival paper, it must be acid-free, manufactured using pure cotton fibers (also referred to as cotton rag) or pure alpha cellulose fibers - which are more durable than wood pulp. It is also important that the paper is free from optical brighteners. Of course this grade of paper is more expensive than standard choices, but the visual and tactile differences are noticeably. These prints should not fade, but remain clear with strong original colors - reportedly for a hundred years or more. 

Fine art prints are custom made and generally take two weeks to produce and ship.