All you ever needed to know about art prints!
Purchasing art prints is an economical way of owning a copy of an original painting. Many people prefer the original art, but it is better to enrich your walls and your life with reproductions of great art than nondescript originals that were only chosen because the price was right.

It is true that no technology can reproduce in full the brushstrokes, the richness of color in an original painting or the subtle changes in color that occurs with a change of the light that falls on an original. But a good quality reproduction can come very, very close.

Today’s print market is filled with so many choices; it’s easy to see why so much confusion has arisen.

Most of the prints in Bob Zwickel’s collection are Giclee prints.
They are printed with permanent pigment archival inks, on acid free watercolor paper or archival canvas.

Some prints are limited editions. They are available in a number decided by the artist or the publisher, after which their printing plates are destroyed.

Proof of this may be documented by the artist.
The artist signs each print (usually in the lower right corner of the print) . The artist numbers each print, above the number of the total edition. The title of the original artwork may be included.

Because the fine art print is deemed a multiple original artwork, many people build their whole collection on Limited Editions. When an edition is sold out, collectors looking for that missing piece in a series can raise the price on what is called the “secondary market” to many times the original price. It’s just the same game played by collectors of stamps or any other collectable. So it’s best to get in early.

Although in reality, the last print is as perfect as the first, low numbers on a print attract a premium. So does a set of same number prints in a series.

A word about commissioned prints and paintings:
The artist retains the right to use any image he or she creates.

It is unethical for an artist to use the image of a commissioned piece without the consent of all parties.

Most clients agree to let the artist make prints of their commissioned pieces because it increases the value of their original piece.

If you are thinking about investing in an original commissioned work of art and do not want prints made of the piece, discuss this with the artist at the time of the commission.

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