Spring traditionally is a time for renewal. But sometimes spring cleaning just isn’t enough; perhaps your home or business needs something new. This can be as simple as new coats of paint, new furniture and design elements, and — the pièce de résistance — new artwork.
The options are great: a large sculpture for indoors, an entryway or courtyard; small art for a table or bookshelf; or paintings to add that perfect spot of color for your home or office. Corporate art may require large paintings that won’t be lost in a large lobby or in the entrance to your business.
When considering two-dimensional art, you’ll want to decide on color schemes, theme or subject matter and the size that would work in your space. Themes could include art done by local artists or art that depicts local scenes, local vegetation or local foods. Maybe you’ve traveled somewhere or have business centers in other places around the world and you’d like something connected to that location.
Your reasons for buying art and what you want your art to portray are as varied and personal as your fingerprint. There is no one answer, so you need options that make getting what you need as simple as possible.
Paint to Print
Let’s say you find a painting you absolutely love, but it is too small for the space where you want to put it.
There is another option.
Instead of assuming you need to keep looking for a different painting that is the right size for your space, you might want to find out whether giclee prints are available. Giclee is the term for fine art digital prints produced using a large format inject printer. The name is based on the French word “gicleur,” which means “nozzle” (the verb form “gicler” means “to squirt, spurt or spray”).
Generally, giclee is a way of making high quality reproductions of art. The beauty of giclee prints is that you can get the artwork reproduced either larger or smaller than the original painting, so it is just right for the space you are filling. Keep in mind that not all giclee prints are created equally, so it is important that the giclee print is created using archival materials.
Ensuring Quality
Artists who are getting high quality prints have them produced by a printer who uses archival materials that are acid free. Papers that are not acid free darken or yellow over time. The inks used are important too, since many inks and paints are fugitive, meaning that the color disappears in a fairly short amount of time.
When printers use archival materials, they will provide a certificate of authenticity that lists the substrate and inks used to produce a long-lasting print. Printers that do not provide a certificate of authenticity likely are not using materials with a light fastness rating by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) of Excellent. So if you are considering buying a print and there is no certificate of authenticity, ask the artist or seller about the longevity of the print.
If the prints are created from very high resolution digital scans of the painting, they can be enlarged up to three times the original size without image degradation. Another nice feature of prints is that they can be printed on paper or canvas, providing flexibility to the buyer.
April M. Rimpo is an artist living in Howard County who explores cultures through color with her art. She can be contacted at [email protected].