Artwork Help

Oh BTW: I forgot to include this link to a short article on the Digital Prints.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Hand-Painted-or-Giclee-Oil-Painting-/10000000000089004/g.html

There is a huge problem of Sellers misidentifying art on Ebay and selling pieces that are nothing more than prints as original oil paintings. It has been known for years, if not decades and Ebay has just never addressed it. The example of the exact print you have that was listed with the link by Adventure E takes you to a listing stating he has or had an “original oil painting”. Funny that there are two of them and every detail is exact. See, what I mean.

The primary art market is way out of the average persons reach. The secondary market is just flooded by sellers and buyers alike that just are not knowledgeable enough to understand what to buy and how to buy. Art on Ebay is also way under priced due to this knowledge gap and inability to correctly identify originals from repo’s and the real techniques used to produce them.

mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta

Sure.. there are a few quick items to be aware of. Fisrt is to always have a loupe or linen tester in your pocket or around your neck. But around your neck you will look like a jewlers. But the loupe is also good for that. At 10x power just lay it down on any artwork and look to see if it is printed with “dots”. Usually CMYK [cyan, magenta, yellow & black]. If so then you at least know it is a reproduction that is usually an “offset Lithograph” print. Not to be confused with a “stone, hand drawn lithograph”.

Next if you think you have a painting, look across the surface and catch some reflective light. If you can see the actual brush strokes that follow the contours of the object it is probably a hand done original. But be careful of brush strokes that have been hand applied with a clear gloss or matt as an overcoat. Those brush strokes will not follow the detailing outline of the objects.

Next look at the back. If it is paper sealed that is usually a print. If raw canvass on wood stretchers a painting. Note if the canvas is brown colored which means it is linen rather than white canvas which is some type of cotton duck. Linen is the more expensive of them.

Note if a painting is stapled or tacked with carpet tacks. Staples are a newer more modern process. Tacks will indicate older.

So brown canvas, tacked, old looking back stains, aged wood frames, any hardawre that is more primitive means the painting is maybe a higher valued piece. But then would come subject matter, style and then of course the artist.

The more valuable prints are penciled signed by the artist, better still if they are pencil numbered, titled and of course dated. Be wary of printed signatures, then pencil signed also. The more that is done in pencil the better. The American Printers and Framwers Institute advocates nubered prints in editions of less than 250 and better still 125. Higher numbers means like 10,000 means high speed mass produced, flooded market, limited only to anyone and everyone that wants one.

If prints are loose, the higher value is having a full 4 sided deckle edge to the paper, or having a watermarked paper which can be seen by holding up to the light. Less value are prints that have straight edges that were cut on a commercial paper cutter guillotine or at the mill.

Then paper type and printing type is a course in itself.

This should give you some idea of what to start with. Most prints I buy is so I can get the frame. Even popular names like Thomas Kinade are really not worth much as far as fine art goes. It is more of a pseudo fake market created by sellers just like the “Beanie Babies” secondary market.

Then comes the whole discussion if Ebay online e-commerce is actually the place to sell or at least get top / higher dollar for the artwork. Ask Jay and Ryanne how they feel now that a year or so has gone by about selling all that art they got from their artist friend and collector. Would they do it again, how do they feel about the prices on the ones they did sell. How many pieces have sold out of that whole load that they got out in Cal.???

So, hopefully you are armed with a little something now to start to weed out what you find out in the field.

Mike, Susan and Lisa, the management team at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta

Even though we don’t have the knowledge and experience of MDDC. There are several things we can look for. How does the frame etc. look and feel? Does it seem to be right for the era of the painting? Is the painting surrounded by other objects that “fit” with it. Ask about it from the current owner? Where did it come from how long have they had it etc.? What can they tell you about it?

Obviously, this would work best at an estate sale and would be ineffective at a thrift store.

Oh you should more than get your money back Most of these types of prints are targeted at the Home decor market. To those and most buyers these are “pictures” not art prints. They are bought to decorate. And if there are train collectors out there, depending on the type train / engine buyers for the subject matter. Most prints should easily go for the $40 to $50 range and then up just like they do in those stores I mentioned. It is the subject that is selling, not the printing process in most of these cases.

mc at mdcg

Sure.. A Giclee is a print. It is an art print. It advantages is that it is a print on demand process so an artist does not have to pay for a whole edition run at one time like the editions we used to do for the artists that came to me to do their edition work for them.

If the correct material / substrate is used and the best archival inks then a digital print / Giclee is just as viable a printing medium as other older techniques. Most quality inks are now mfg. to last over a hundred years along with the acid free, neutral PH materials they are printed on. Many museum now prefer Giclees again because of cost and print on demand. Galleries who represent artists can print one or two to keep in stock and when one sells they just replace it. BTW, the digital process is very accurate on duplicating each image exactly even if printed, days, weeks or months later. Unless equipment or inks have been changed by the print house.

mc at MDCG