Original Handcrafted Art Works on Paper

Collecting Original Prints

The majority of internationally influential artists, including Pablo Picasso, David Hockney, Paula Rego, Damien Hirst and Banksy have made original fine art prints as part of their portfolio of work. Traditionally, making printed works on paper has allowed artists to make original hand-crafted work at much lower prices and has allowed the art to be more widely available. The advantages of printmaking as a popular and affordable art form were evident as early the 15 C, when the German Renaissance artist and polymath, Albrecht Dürer, favoured engraved prints over painting. By selling his prints cheaply, Albrecht Dürer became one of the first independent professional artists. Rather than bow to the dictates of a patron, printmaking allowed Dürer the means to make art of his own design and sell to independent collectors who truely appreciated his work.

But what exactly are original prints? What are collector’s limited editions and what are artist’s proofs? This section will try to explain what’s so special about handmade prints.

ORIGINAL PRINT

Original, handmade prints are unique works of art. The composition is worked out by the artist, often through a series of drawings, and then the artist chooses a form of printmaking that would best suit the drawing (i.e. screen printing, collagraph, lithography, engraving or etching etc.). The printing plate, stone, block or screen is then worked into by hand in order to create the image which will be printed. This is often a time consuming and skilled process, where problems have to be overcome. Knowledge of how different materials and inks will print; the registration of separate colour plates; finding the correct timings to cook an etching plate in acid or expose a screen printing mesh to UV rays, can each make or break a finished piece of art. Every artist will therefore develop their own unique approach to making a fine art print.

Colour mixing inks and printing by hand is another area which requires skill, experience and a personal approach.

COLLECTOR’S LIMITED EDITION

At all stages every print is treated as an individual art work. After an image has been screen printed every image is then individually considered and hand coloured to bring out the strengths of that particular print.

Unlike digitally produced work, all Collector’s Limited Editions are entirely hand produced from inception to finish. All print runs are made to a very a small number, of between 10 to 20 prints, so that time can be given to every single print to ensure that it has been made to the highest standards and is a true work of art.

ARTIST’S PROOF

All decisions about printing and hand colouring are made on paper, and not on a computer. This means that for every Collector’s Limited Edition a small number of prints will be used to explore different colour combinations. Often this leads to the creation of artist proofs, which are uniquely coloured one of a kind originals. They are the same quality as the editioned pieces, but are one-off works.

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