Collector Tips

This section of our website is to help everyone have a better understanding of various terms & definitions used within the Fine ART sector so you will be more knowledgeable when purchasing your next art piece.

Original

An Original is the actual piece of art that the Artist has created in various mediums such as Oil paint, Acrylics, Watercolors and numerous other mediums prior to any reproductions that may be done at a later time.

Sketch

A Sketch is a study the Artist first conceptualized (usually in graphite pencil) and lays out the composition of the intended art piece the Artist is about to paint or sculpt. Often the Artist will create a sketch to study light & shadow of the image or adjust the balance of various subjects within the overall composition.

Remarque

A Remarque is a small original sketch done either on the face or backside of an Edition by the Artist that adds intrinsic value to the Edition over time as each Remarque that is done is unique to that individual art piece making it a true one of a kind.

Open Edition

An Open Edition is a reproduction of a given art piece that may or may not be signed by the Artist and is NOT numbered but will continue to be reproduced as long as there is a demand for that piece of art.

Signed Edition

A Signed Edition is most often an Open Edition that is a reproduction of a given art piece that has been signed by the Artist and is NOT numbered but will continue to be reproduced as long as there is a demand for that piece of art.

Numbered Edition

A Numbered Edition is the reproduction of a given art piece that has a set number of pieces that will be reproduced and is marked on the art of said Edition quantity. Example If there was a Numbered Edition of 500 and you were making a purchase of the 25th piece of said edition the numbering that would be on the art piece would read as follows 25/500

Limited Edition

A Limited Edition is the reproduction of a FINE Art composition that can not have more than 250 pieces within the Edition in order to classify it as an Intellectual Property. A Limited Edition must be Signed by the Artist & Numbered and should read accordingly of said piece within that Limited Edition and is accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Example If you were making a purchase of the 9th piece within said Limited Edition the signing & numbering that should be on the art piece would read as follows Signature of the Artist and Numbered 9/250 on either the front, back and/or both sides.

Enhanced / Embellished Limited Edition

When an art piece has been Enhanced / Embellished, means that the Artist has revisited the art piece reproduction and added additional Oil paint, Acrylics, Gel medium and or another medium that the Artist feels will add intrinsic value to said Limited Edition making it a true one of a kind piece.

Giclee Imaging (pronounced “Gee Clay”)

Giclee is a French word that means to spray. Giclee Imaging is the most sophisticated and accurate way we have today of reproducing an Original piece of art from various mediums including Oil paint, Acrylics, Watercolors and many others.

Giclee Imaging is a digital inkjet reproduction process and is NOT printing, meaning the output devise is not a printing press printing thousands of pieces per hour, therefore a Giclee Limited Edition is NOT a PRINT.

The digital inkjet output devise has up to 12 archival colors that are applied to the archival canvas or papers at exactly the same time to give the appearance of continuance tone, similar to a photograph.

Each Giclee is then coated with a UV Clear Coat to help protect it from the environment.

The Giclee Imaging process is done one piece at a time and is a lengthy process in order to achieve the Artist standards of excellence and maintain the color accuracy of the Original.

Archival

The term Archival is in reference to the raw material ingredients used to create the colors, canvases and papers to withstand the test of time and color fastness from our environment for approximately 100+ years.

Certificate of Authenticity

A Certificate of Authenticity is a document that certifies that your Limited Edition is authentic and was reproduced as per the specifications of the Artist. Think of this document as a birth certificate of your Limited Edition which clarifies the date it was produced, its size, medium in which it was reproduced, serial number within the edition and most often the Artist signature and/or an image photo of said art piece.

Litho Prints

A Litho Print is in reference to a printing process called Lithography and is the traditional method of printing a Poster Print. Prints are typically printed on paper using the Four Color Process “CYMK” (cyan, yellow, magenta & black) method of color separation in order to reproduce the art image. This form of printing process is printed on high speed Litho presses, with the capability of printing 40,000+ sheets per hour.

Serigraph

The term Serigraph is in reference to a reproduction process achieved through the Screen-Printing process method usually involving 25+ individual colors that have been printed one at a time. Meaning however many colors the Artist has called out for the art piece to be reproduced in is how many times each sheet has gone through the Silkscreen press. This is a very labor intensive process and usually takes many months to complete just one project.

Surrealism

Surrealism is an art form where the artist has incorporated real life elements into unreal compositions.

Example A beautiful blond mermaid, a fish with human eyes or a clock with human legs.

Surrealscape

A Surrealscape is seascape or landscape where the artist has created elements of fantasy into the composition often making the art piece look ethereal, heavenly or dreamy in overall appearance.

Hyperrealism

Hyperrealism is a technical art form composition where the composition looks so real that you think that it is a photograph, but in fact is an original painted in either Oil paint, Acrylics or Watercolors.

Figurative Impressionist

Figurative Impressionism is an art form where the artist has incorporated the human form into their composition in either a brush or palette knife style that is in relatively loose form not defining every detail, but conveying the uniqueness of how the light and shadows are cast upon the figure the artist is painting.