Artworks on paper may include original works in media such as watercolours, inks, pencil and charcoal, or prints, such as etchings, engravings and lithographs.
Handling
Never touch the surface of a picture. Paper easily absorbs skin oils and perspiration so wash your hands before handling any type of valuable artwork. When handling unframed artworks, use both your hands, and support them from underneath or place them in a folder. When carrying a framed work, hold both sides of the frame. Don't use pressure-sensitive tapes such as Sellotape or masking tape, or adhesives such as PVA (white glue) or rubber cement to mend or mount an artwork.
How to Protect Your Fine Art Photograph Information on how to properly care for photographs, photographic prints and the care of photography collections. Since photographs can be easily damaged, taking precautionary measures is the best defense in protecting their values. This article and web page have been designed to help you understand the of care and handling of photographs. Resource links and books are also featured providing you with a wealth of knowledge and hours of reading.
Several everyday situations can potentially cause damage to photographs. Avoiding these situations and potential problems, is much easier than trying to correct damage once it has occurred. Major areas of concern are broken down into the following categories:
Step 1 Select an acrylic paint if you need a fast-drying medium. For example, if you are working on a project that requires multiple layers, or needs to be moved to another location quickly after it's painted, a proper acrylic paint can offer the best results.
Step 2 Use artist-grade acrylic paint from a manufacturer who mills pigments and mixes paints. A better brand of acrylic paint dries with a durable layer on the finished painting.
Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, mediums, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with the other media.
Paint and solvent residue should be cleaned from brushes after use. After removing most of the paint from the bristles manually with an appropriate solvent, detergent and water should be used to clean the brush further. After a thorough cleaning, natural hair brushes benefit from using a brush conditioner on the hairs to restore oils. A conditioner can be worked into the bristles which can then be shaped to a point and left to dry. Before the next painting session, the conditioner should be removed with water.
The following will help you understand what makes a good quality brush:
Hair Just as they were in the past, artists' brushes are still crafted by hand. Brush makers hand “cup” the hair to shape, so that each strand falls into place, giving the brush a fine tapered point or a clean, straight edge. Hair is the most important and expensive part of the brush.
Most hair types vary in quality. For example, all bristle hair is not the same; there are many different grades. The better grades offer unique properties which enable them to hold more color and retain their shapes. Remember that a better quality hair makes a far better brush, and a better quality tool makes painting easier and more enjoyable.
Ferrule This is the metal band which holds the hair to the handle. Nearly all of the brushes we sell at Hampton Photo Arts have nickel-plated, seamless ferrules, so they will not rust or split.
Synthetic hair brushes provide a smoother stroke than natural bristle, retain their stiffness, and when used with acrylics and other water based media, clean easily with soap and water. Most synthetic hair brushes are also more durable. When used with acrylics, natural bristle brushes tend to lose their stiffness, though natural hair brushes often carry more color. It is a matter of preference: synthetic or natural hair.
Natural bristle brushes are not all alike. Yes, all hairs come from hogs or boars, but many factors affect the performance of the brush. The stiffest and the most desired bristles come from Chungking and Shanghai in China. The best bristle has long, soft split ends called “flags,” which increase the brush's color-carrying capacity. Generally speaking, the more flags a brush has, the more color the brush holds. Control is further enhanced when the hairs curve inward and become interlocked. A good interlocked brush will maintain its original shape, help you to control the placement of color, and add textural qualities. Some artists who use acrylics prefer natural bristle, while some oil painters choose synthetic brushes. Again, it is your choice. Sable is also used for blending and for fine detail in oil color. Unlike bristle, sable does not show brush strokes. Although natural bristle brushes can be used with acrylics, sable is not recommended.
Printing on canvas is incredibly versatile and a great way to create a ready-to-hang image or artwork. Every canvas that we print is protected with a UV coated acrylic finish to guard the print from dust, moisture and fading. Do you want your canvas stretched on bars or non-stretched? Framed or unframed? Customize the work to make it truly your own.
Nowadays just about anyone can take a good quality photographs with a digital camera. Or take a few hundred pictures and the chances are few will be good, and even one or two outstanding.
Here are a few tips, tricks and techniques on how to make art print poster ready photographs and print ready digital files. Don’t get overwhelmed, there is a lot of information here, but a lot of it is just intuitive. Well, a bit of patience will always help.
First thing – Photo Size
If you taking a digital photo of you family or friend the largest size you would print is usually 5 by 7 inches, maybe 8 by 10 at the most. Even small size digital photographs (2MB or less) are ‘good enough’ to create a decent print. But if you want to create prints that are 16 by 20, 20 by 24 inches or larger you need more pixels (in pixels 20 by 24 inches photo is actually about 40 times larger than 3 by 4 inches photo assuming they have the same resolution).
Watercolor is an easy, fun medium for creating art. Color theory, composition and design can be explored freely with watercolor paint, paper, and brushes. Several techniques may be used with watercolors for varying effects including painting wet on wet, wet on dry, layering washes, and more.
Watercolor paper comes in cold press, hot press, and rough. Rough paper has the most texture, and its hills and valleys can result in interesting effects when paint is added. Hot press is the smoothest and has the finest texture. Cold press has a moderate amount of texture and is the paper most commonly chosen by watercolor artists.
Watercolor paper comes in several weights ranging from 90 lb. to 300 lb. based on the pounds per ream of paper. Most artists prefer to use at least 140 lb. paper. Papers vary somewhat between manufacturers, so sampling different papers is advisable. Paper can be purchased in pads, in blocks or in large sheets. The large sheets are usually the most economical and can be torn into whatever size is desired.