Giclee:
A giclee (zhee-CLAY) is a high-resolution, superior quality reproduction done on a special large format printer. Giclees are produced from digital scans or photographs of existing artwork. Some artists produce only digital art, so there is no "original" that can be hung on a wall. Artists can produce infinite images without degrading the quality of the production and reproduction. Many artists confine themselves to limited editions, however. Giclees create a new, vibrant medium for art as well as an affordable way for some art lovers to collect.
Giclees can be printed on many media, such as canvas, watercolor paper, and transparent acetates. Giclees are superior to traditional lithography because the colors are bright, last longer, and are of such a high resolution that they “paint” the medium in a continuous tone, rather than tiny dots.
Lithography uses tiny dots of four colors--cyan, magenta, yellow and black--to fool the eye into seeing various hues and shades. Colors are "created" by printing different size dots of these four colors.
Giclees use a sophisticated inkjet technology. Six colors are used--light cyan, cyan, light magenta, magenta, yellow and black, and the inks resulting in colors that are more true to the original art. The ink is sprayed onto the page, actually mixing the inks on the page to create true colors.
They are priced midway between original art and regular limited edition lithographs. Limited edition litho prints are usually produced in editions of 500-1000 or more, but giclees rarely exceed 50-100 reproductions.
Giclees were originally developed as a proofing system for lithograph printing presses, but when printers when to do the lithograph print run, they realized that lithographs did not match the quality and color of the giclee proofs. Giclees are increasingly preferred by collectors and galleries. Artists like them as well because they can do smaller print runs at an affordable price.
Many of Tennyson Gallery’s canvas artists are open to selling giclees of their original work. If you love an original, but it is simply too big, for example, we can custom order a Giclee of almost any size. The average price of a Giclee from Tennyson Gallery is 30 cents per inch, plus a set-up fee.
Artists often “enhance” or “marquee” the Giclee by adding original paint right onto the Giclee itself. This way the art lover is buying, technically, a Giclee print, but it now has become one of a kind! Tennyson Gallery’s average price to have an artist enhance a Giclee is $100.
Original Murano Venetian Italian Glass:
Direct from Italy's glass-making capital in Venice. Just a quick water-taxi ride from Venice, the world-famous island of Murano is home to the centuries-old art of Murano glass. Furnaces line the picturesque walkways of the island. You can watch as the glass makers, in seemingly choreographed rhythm, shape, blow & twirl their incredible creations in the dancing fires of the pulsating, growling ovens. Reflective, dazzling, joyful & dramatic, our collection of large glass animals & birds is guaranteed not to disappoint! No two pieces exactly alike, of course!
The art of glass making in Venice is present from the beginning of Venetian history. The art of glass making was pasted down from father to son and then became a trade exclusively for those born in the island of Murano were all the factories were moved to in 1291 as a precaution for a fire hazard. Glass was regarded as an important item of export and the secrets of its making were jealously guarded. A glassmaker, during the Republic, that left the Venetian State was condemned to death as a traitor. The most important discoveries in making glass were made in Murano. The Murano School still remains the most important and inimitable.
Thousands of techniques of working glass and products such as chandeliers, mirrors, necklaces, drinking glasses, plates, vases, bottles, ornaments have come out of the Murano furnaces to decorate homes, palaces, and museums all over the world.
Tennyson Gallery is delighted to carry select pieces of Murano glass at prices below typical retail. We can sometimes source glass of a certain style, color tone, or size. If you are interested, we will do our best to find your piece!
Visual Arts Terminology
Abstract art is now generally understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses shapes and colours in a non-representational or non-objective way. In the early 20th century, the term was more often used to describe art, such as Cubist and Futurist art, that does represent the natural world, but does so by capturing something of its immutable intrinsic qualities rather than by imitating its external appearance.
Abstract Expressionism was an American post-World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and also the one that put New York City at the center of the art world, a role formerly filled by Paris. The term was first applied to American art in 1946 by the critic Robert Coates. Technically, its most important predecessor is often said to be surrealism, with its emphasis on spontaneous, automatic or subconscious creation. Jackson Pollock's dripping paint onto a canvas laid on the floor is a technique that has its roots in the work of Max Ernst. The movement gets its name because it is seen as combining the emotional intensity and self-expression of the German Expressionists with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools such as Futurism, the Bauhaus and Synthetic Cubism. Additionally, it has an image of being rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and, some feel, rather nihilistic. In practice, the term is applied to any number of artists working in New York who had quite different styles, and even applied to work which is not especially abstract nor expressionist. Pollock's energetic "action paintings", with their "busy" feel, are very different both technically and aesthetically to the rather violent and grotesque Women series of Willem de Kooning (which is not particularly abstract) and to the serenely shimmering blocks of colour in Mark Rothko's work (which does not seem particularly expressionist), yet all three are classified as abstract expressionists.
Acrylic Paint is a fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer resin. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water), the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting. Acrylics are sometimes used in place of watercolors because acrylics dry closer to the desired color (slightly darker, usually), while watercolors dry lighter (and often unpredictably, especially for beginning artists). Acrylics can also be used as an alternative to oil paint because acrylics dry much faster than oil paints. Oil paints, which consist of pigment suspended in an oil (usually linseed, or other natural oil) base, can take a very long time to dry. Acrylic paints can achieve an oil-paint-like effect, and do so in much less time. Applied to look like oil paints, acrylics are somewhat limited due to the superior color range of oil paints, and the fact that acrylic paints dry to a shiny, smooth (some say 'cartoonish') effect--not surprising since acrylic paints are, basically, plastic.
Animation art is produced from animated films; may be described as "cels" referring to celluloid on which such films were produced. Some prints on paper also may be produced from animated cels.
Artist's proof is a print outside the standard edition which are intended for the artist's own private collection and use as part of the original artist-publisher agreement.
Avante Garde was originally concerned with art for the sake of social progress: seeing the artist as the vanguard of a social reform movement. Over time however the term has also come to be associated with movements concerned with "art for art's sake", concerned directly with aesthetic experience rather than social reform, the direct opposite of its original intentions.
Collage is the assemblage of different forms, creating a new whole. For example, an artistic collage work may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, photographs, etc., glued to a solid support or canvas.
Contemporary Art encompasses all art being done now. It tends to include art from the 1960s or 1970s through the present.
Crafts are any number of items produced using original art techniques are today considered fine art crafts--blown glass, pottery, ceramics, clay pieces, textiles/weavings, wood carvings and other items that are created by artists are original and unique works of art. Some are very expensive and are very collectible.
Decoupage is a type of collage that is usually defined as a craft. It is the process of placing a picture onto an object for decouration. Often decoupage causes the picture to appear to have depth and looks as if it had been painted on the object. The basic process is of glueing (or using some other form of adhesive) a picture to something you wish to decourate and that adding copies of the ficture on top. As you ad on more copies of the picture you progressively cut out more and more of the background so that, in the end result, the picture has obtained some depth. Often the picture is then coated with varnish or some other sealent for protection.
An Edition is the total number of prints made of a specific image and issued together from a publisher.
Glaze is a term for painting with a transparent medium. In other words, whatever is on the surface beneath the glaze will still be apparent after the glaze has been applied. The glaze will merely change the color cast of the surface. This is a technique that has been used for centuries in fine art. When using the techmique for wall glazing, the entire surface is generally covered often showing traces of texture(French Brush, Parchment, Striae, Rag Rolling). Either oil based or water based materials may be used for glazing walls, depending upon the desired effect. Kerosene or linseed oil may be used to extend the "open " or working time of oil based glazes. Water based glazes are sometimes thinned with glycerin or another wetting agent to extend the working time. In general, water galzes are best suited to rougher textures where overlaps of color are acceptable.
Graphic is a term used for any "multiple original" work of art on paper. The graphics media includes intaglios, serigraphs, and lithographs. An offset reproduction is not a graphic.
Installation Art is a genre of western contemporary art which came to prominence in the 1970s. Installation art incorporates any media to create a visceral and/or conceptual experience in a particular environment. Installation artists often use the space of the gallery directly. Many trace the roots of this form of art to earlier artists such as Marcel Duchamp and the use of readymade objects rather than more traditional craft based sculpture. The intension of the artist is paramount in most installation art due to its roots in the conceptual art of the 1960’s. This again is a departure from traditional sculpture which places its focus on form.
It can include any media from natural materials to new media such as video, sound, performance, computers and the internet.
Some installations are site specific art; they can only exist in the space for which they were created.
Intaglio is from an Italian word meaning "cut in," intaglio prints are made from images cut below the surface of the printing plate. Ink is forced into these cut-out images and then forced onto the paper in a press exerting great pressure. Intaglio prints include etchings, aquatints, drypoints, engravings, soft-ground etchings and mezzotints. In some processes, the lines are cut out by hand with tools; in others, they are bitten out by acid.
Japonisme is a term used to indicate the recurring influence of Japanese art on Western art groups, especially the Nabis, the Post-Impressionists, Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and the Expressionists. Printmaking techniques, particularly woodcuts, were a regular focus of attention.
Limited edition refers to the number of objects that are available. In art, a limited edition refers to the fact that the article is one of a number of images in a published edition for which a predetermined number of impressions were from a plate. Once the predertimed number of impressions are made, no more impressions are to be taken, assuring that the edition is "limited." The number of impressions in a limited edition should be information that is available to the consumer. Both original graphics and reproductions are offered as "limited editions" from artists and art publishers.
Limited edition reproduction is also sometimes referred to as "offset lithograph.") Art that has been photomechanically reproduced from another medium and printed by one of several methods, often by offset presses. The edition size has been predetermined by the publisher, generally based on the artist's popularity and sales potential.
Original graphics also are "limited editions," but prints produced by original means--and do not exist already in another medium--are considered multiple original prints, not reproductions.
Lithography is artwork printed from a stone or metal plate or other flat surface. The artist uses a greasy substance to draw on the surface of the plate; only these greasy areas will accept ink. Once the plate is inked, high-quality paper is laid over it and the package is pulled through a press. To create a lithograph with a number of different colors, a number of different plates must be prepared and the paper must go through the press each time a new color is added. Lithographs are usually printed in editions of several hundred. Each print is considered a "multiple original" because the artist pulled each one from the press, or closely supervised the press operator. Each print is signed and numbered in the margin.
Mexican Muralists is a modern art movement that flourished in Mexico from around 1910 – 1950’s. The Muralists sought to create a socially and politically committed popular public art based on a fusion of European styles and native traditions.
Mixed media combines two or more printmaking methods to produce unique mixed-media works. Sometimes collage techniques are added to prints to produce a mixed-media piece.
A Monotype is the only type of print that comes in an edition of one. The artist draws or paints on a flat surface, then lays fine paper over the surface and pulls the package through a press. Because no fixed design has been created in the plate, the design can never be exactly duplicated. However, artists can partially re-ink the plate and run it through a press in successive printings, creating a series of prints similar to the original. These are known as "ghost prints."
Monotypes are signed and numbered in the margin 1/1 indicating one print from an edition of one.
Offset lithograph is a photomechanically reproduced image. See "limited edition reproduction."
Open edition reproductions are photomechanically reproduced images that are published with no restrictions as to the number of copies that will be made. Open editions usually are decorative pieces of art done in current colors, subjects and sizes, printed on inexpensive paper.
Photomontage is the process (and result) of making a composite picture by cutting and joining a number of photographs. The English photographer, Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901) is credited with making the first photomontages, soon after starting his career in 1857.
Photography prints can be made from photographic negatives, positive transparancies or digital images, and printed on a wide variety of media, including photo paper, fine art paper and canvas. They can be black and white or color. Many artists, especially those whose works appeared early in the 20th century, are highly collectible.
Plein Air is French for “open air”, a term used to say that certain paintings were done, or styles are associated with, execution out of doors in front of the motif.
Pointillism is a painting technique of applying dots of pure color instead of mixing on the palette to achieve maximum intensity.
Poster as art medium comes from the ancient practice of "posting" messages in public places. Used for advertising or other communication needs, posters were designed to communicate quickly and graphically. Posters are still used for that purpose today--movies, concerts, plays and other public events all are promoted with posters.
Posters also are produced strictly as decorative art, usually inexpensively on inexpensive paper. Posters almost always photomechanical reproductions; there is always graphic type on a poster, which is the primary difference between these and open edition reproductions.
Vintage posters – those printed 50 to 100 years ago – are highly collectable and have investment value. These often are very large and very graphic.
Prints are original or fine-art prints fabricated using such techniques as engraving, etching, woodcut, aquatint and lithography, as well as more contemporary digital processes. These pieces are made in prescribed quantities. They are produced entirely by the artist or under his or her direct supervision in collaboration with a master printer.
Restrikes are modern-day printings of antique prints. Restrikes can be made from the old plates used to make authentic prints, or they can be made from new plates created just for the restrikes. These prints should be labeled as a restrike, to differentiate them from original antique prints.
Sculptures are created in three-dimensional form in a wide variety of materials--clay, bronze and marble are most common. Some sculpture pieces are reproduced from molds and are considered to be "published" works. Others are unique pieces created entirely by the sculptor.
Serigraph (also known as a silkscreen) is artwork created from a stenciled design worked into a nylon or wire mesh. The design is created by blocking out areas that are not to be printed with a greasy substance applied to the screen, or with paper or other material. Once the design is in place, the mesh is positioned over high-quality paper and ink is pushed through it with a squeegee; areas that are not blocked are printed.A different set of screens--and an additional pass through the press--is required for each color the artist wishes to print.
When the artist, either alone or working with a master printer, creates the screens and prints the edition, generally several hundred of an image, each print is considered a "multiple original." Some reproductions also are now produced using serigraphic techniques, and are called serigraphs.
Signed and numbered – At the bottom of each print in an edition, the artist pencils in his signature and numbers the print. The numbering appears as one number over another, for example, 15/30. This indicates that this was the 15th print to be signed and that there were 30 prints in all.
Surrealism is a movement for the liberation of the mind that emphasizes the critical and imaginative powers of the unconscious. Often misinterpreted as an artistic movement, it has transformed visual art, writing, film, and political thought, not to mention everyday life. Surrealism was initially started by Andre Breton and gained further momentum with the inclusion of Salvador Dali. While related to Dada, from which many of its initial members came, surrealism is significantly broader in scope. As Dada was a negative response to the First World War, surrealism possesses a more positive view that the world can be changed and transformed into a fertile crescent of freedom, love, and poetry.
Trompe L'oeil literally meaning "trick the eye", is an art technique that creates and employs an apparently realistic image as a type of optical illusion. Although the phrase has its origin in the Baroque period painting what should be there but isn't dates back much further. It refers usually to paintings that are done on objects - usually walls - created with a deliberate attempt at creating false perspectives and effects. To cite an example, if there were a door on one end of a wall, a trompe l'oeil painting might be done at the other end, complete with effects of persons peeping through it; or a blank wall might be painted as a representation of a view outside. Trompe l'oeil can also be found painted on tables and other items of furniture, where it may look like cards in a game which is being played out, but in reality the eye is being tricked with an image.
Unique -- In art, this term is applied to original artwork. All original, one-of-a-kind pieces are unique works.
Wash is a light covering of watercolor on a painting. When painting three-dimensional models, they can be used to add shading.
Some of these definitions are taken directly From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. , and Décor Magazine.
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