Collecting Original Art: Printmaking
Collecting Original Art: Printmaking
STORY BY VIRGINIA BESHEARS
Original art is one of the absolute most enriching things to collect, but for non-artists, it can be challenging knowing where to start. There’s so much amazing art out there, so a little guidance can go a long way.
“Original art” means any artwork that was produced by the artist’s hand. While reproduction prints are a great way to get something beautiful up on your walls quickly at a low price, a fantastic original piece that really speaks to you can step up your space in a huge way.
Printmaking is, in my opinion, the perfect place to get your collection of original art started. Printmaking can yield some incredibly charming and wonderful pieces of art.
It’s a little counterintuitive, since digital replications of artwork are often colloquially called “prints” because they are made using either an inkjet or laser printer. True hand-pulled prints are definitively original art. Since mediums like woodcutting, linocut, screen printing, etching, etc. were designed to create multiple versions of the same design, hand-pulled prints can be much more affordable than one-off paintings and other forms of art. And, because each print is made by hand (and usually signed and numbered as part of a series or “run”), each print is still very much one-of-a-kind.
Below are a selection of amazing original prints that are all available on Etsy.
Block Prints
Block printing, also known as relief printing, is an umbrella term for methods of printmaking where the artist carves their design into a “block” (usually made of wood, rubber, or lino).
Screen Prints
Screen printing is another popular method of printmaking, which involves using a UV sensitive chemical called photo emulsion to “burn” a design onto a silk screen, and then push ink over the screen and onto paper.
I hope this helps you navigate the world of art collecting a bit easier. In the future, I’ll be writing about other popular mediums you might be interested in, like watercolor and paintings on canvas. Stay tuned and happy art collecting!
