Learning
Educating Artists & Art Collectors Alike
Understanding art goes beyond creation and collection—it requires knowledge of proper protocols, management, and handling to preserve its value and integrity. This section is dedicated to educating both artists and collectors about the coexistence of digital and traditional canvas paintings within the art community. From best practices in developing, creating and caring for canvas originals, digital paintings, and their associated prints to recognizing the significance of a digital work's 'Primary Print' equivalent to original canvas paintings, we aim to bridge the gap between mediums. Whether you’re an artist refining your craft or a collector building a meaningful collection, informed decisions ensure that art is valued, respected, and preserved for generations.
Canvas or Paper Prints?
Everything You Need To Know
Choosing Between Canvas and Archival Paper Prints
When deciding between canvas and archival paper prints, it’s important to consider the unique qualities of each medium to find the best fit for your art and display preferences.
Canvas Prints
1. Texture and Appearance:
Texture: Canvas prints have a textured, fabric-like surface that mimics the look and feel of an original painting. This texture adds depth and dimension to the artwork, making it visually striking, while giving creations a more raw and authentic look like an original creation.
Finish Options: Canvas prints can come in a variety of finishes, including matte, glossy, or satin. The choice of finish can influence the overall appearance and feel of the print. Here at Avid Art Works we select the style of finish that best represents each individual creation.
2. Presentation and Framing:
Ready to Hang: Canvas prints are typically stretched over wooden frames, making them ready to hang right out of the box. This eliminates the need for additional framing unless desired for aesthetic purposes.
Framing Options: If you prefer a more polished look, canvas prints can be framed in a variety of styles, or they can be displayed as-is for a modern, minimalist look. Frame-stretched canvas prints mounted within a traditional frame provide an amazing feel and look.
Here at Avid Art Works, we provide our prints to clients either stretched onto a frame (ready to hang) or rolled up for the client to select their own mounting and framing options.
3. Durability:
Longevity: High-quality canvas prints are durable and resistant to fading, provided they are properly cared for (example, not mounted in a location where they are subject to the elements, or receiving direct sunlight for hours on end, day after day. They can last for decades without significant degradation. Here at Avid Art Works, our prints utilize either UV-resistant inks, or UV-protective varnish, or both, depending on the type of print process that best suits a particular creation. However, even these measures can't take the place of proper care over the years.
Maintenance: Canvas prints are relatively easy to maintain. They can be gently dusted to keep them looking their best.
4. Display Flexibility:
Versatility: Canvas prints work well in a variety of settings, from homes and offices to galleries. Their textured surface and substantial presence also make them suitable for larger spaces.
Archival Paper Prints
1. Texture and Appearance:
Smooth Finish: Archival paper prints have a smooth surface that allows for fine details and sharp lines. This medium is ideal for works that emphasize precision and clarity that simply can not be fully appreciated on canvas.
Paper Quality: Archival paper is designed to be acid-free and lignin-free, ensuring that it won’t yellow or deteriorate over time. It is available in various weights and finishes, such as matte, semi-gloss, or glossy. Here at Avid Art Works, we utilize the weights and finishes that best represent a particular creation.
2. Presentation and Framing:
Framing Required: Unlike canvas prints, archival paper prints must be framed behind glass to protect them and make them ready for display. This in turn offers an opportunity to choose a frame that complements your decor, as well as the style of the artwork.
Matting Options: Archival paper prints can be matted within the frame, which adds an extra layer of protection and can enhance the visual appeal by providing a clean, professional look.
3. Durability:
Longevity: Archival paper prints are designed to last a lifetime without significant fading or degradation, provided they are displayed under glass and kept away from direct sunlight and humidity.
Maintenance: These prints should be framed under UV-protective glass and can be gently cleaned with a soft cloth to avoid smudging or damaging the paper.
4. Display Flexibility:
Elegant Look: Archival paper prints offer a classic, elegant look that works well in traditional settings or when a refined presentation is desired. They are ideal for showcasing fine details and intricate work.
Size Flexibility: Paper prints can be produced in a wide range of sizes, making them versatile for different display spaces.
Making Your Choice
Ultimately, the choice between canvas and archival paper prints depends on your personal preferences, the style of the artwork, and the intended display environment.
Consider the following:
Canvas Prints: Choose these if you prefer a textured, original paint-like look and want a piece that’s ready to hang without additional framing. They can be ideal for more compact spaces where a bulky traditional frame could be an issue. They also equally suited for both contemporary or rustic spaces.
Archival Paper Prints: Opt for these if you value fine detail, a smooth finish, and the ability to customize the framing. They are perfect for a classic, elegant presentation and for artworks that benefit from more precise and detailed reproduction on a smooth surface.
Both options provide high-quality reproductions of your favorite artworks, ensuring that you can enjoy them for many years to come!
If you have any further questions or concerns regarding this topic, please feel free to email us.
Digital Art Protocols
How Digital Art Coexists With Traditional Canvas Art
by Larry Cox
Introduction
While the talent of digital artists and their works have finally become widely accepted within a great portion of the art community as equal among traditional canvas artists, the concept of "original works" has remained on a blurry and categorically undefined pathway when it comes to digital creations.
Being an established artist with my own art gallery that also has my works featured in other galleries, I am an artist with professional experience in both traditional canvas and digital painting. And I have encountered a recurring challenge regarding the sales of my digital art works: defining the nature and protocols of original digital artwork files and the constant demand for an "original" digital counterpart to original physically-painted artworks on canvas.
Unlike traditional paintings, which exist as one-of-a-kind physical pieces that can also be digitally scanned and sold as Limited Edition prints, digital paintings originate as one-of-a-kind digital files that are then printed and sold as Limited Edition prints, making the concept of an "original" more obtuse when it comes to such digital paintings.
After extensive research, I found that there were no widely-recognized protocols or official standards within the art community regarding the management of digital works, nor the concept of offering the digital painting equivalent of an original canvas painting, other than describing the actual digitally-painted file as the “original” (more on that shortly). Yet, over time, customers have continually requested “originals” of my digital paintings.
To address this gap, I developed a solution that has proven highly effective regarding continued requests from customers for “originals” of my digital paintings that I sell as Limited Edition prints. I have created and implemented what I call, the Primary Print. Customers have understood the explanation of this process and have embraced it as a sound solution and effective counterpart to traditional original physical paintings on canvas. I have also found that customers have no problem with paying considerably more for Primary Prints as opposed to the prices of their Limited Edition counterparts, just as collectors do with original physical paintings on canvas versus their limited edition prints.
Defining the "Primary Print"
The Primary Print is the digital art equivalent of an original physical painting on canvas. It follows a structured approach that aligns with the traditional art market’s principles regarding physically-painted originals and their limited edition prints:
• One-of-a-Kind Status: The Primary Print is the very first physical print of a digital artwork, signed, but not numbered, making it inherently unique and valuable beyond the valuations of the Limited Edition prints.
• Separation from Limited Edition Prints: Subsequent prints of the same digital artwork are signed and numbered as part of a Limited Edition series, while the Primary Print stands alone without numbering, and only a signature, much like an original physical painting on canvas.
• Certificate of Authenticity: Each Primary Print is accompanied by a unique Certificate of Authenticity that formally recognizes and distinguishes it from all other Limited Edition prints.
• Market & Collector Recognition: Just as collectors seek original physical paintings on canvas for their exclusivity over Limited Edition prints, the Primary Print provides the same appeal for digitally-created art works.
Comparing Traditional Physical Paintings on Canvas With Digital Paintings
"Original"
For a Traditional Painting, the original physical painting is signed, but unnumbered. For a Digital Painting, the Primary Print, which is the first-ever print of a digital painting, is also signed, but unnumbered.
"Limited Edition Prints" (LEP)
For a Traditional Painting the LEP is a numbered & signed print of a scanned & digitized physical canvas painting. For a Digital Painting - the LEP is numbered & signed print of the digital painting file.
"Value"
For a Traditional Painting the original is significantly more valuable than its Limited Edition prints. For a Digital Painting the Primary Print is significantly more valuable than its Limited Edition prints.
"Authenticity"
For a Traditional Painting - provenance, artist signature, Certificate of Authenticity. For a Digital Painting - provenance, artist signature, unique Certificate of Authenticity.
This system provides a clear, structured framework for valuing digital artwork in a way that aligns with traditional fine art practices for physical canvas paintings, ensuring benefit, stability, and uniformity of practice to both artists and collectors.
Why Formal Recognition is Necessary
1. Bridging the Gap Between Traditional & Digital Art
◦ The fine art world has long upheld clear distinctions between originals and prints. Digital art should be treated with the same level of integrity, ensuring collectors and institutions understand what constitutes a unique and original creation from subsequent Limited Edition prints.
2. Providing Clarity to Collectors & Art Buyers
◦ Many collectors hesitate to invest in digital art due to the lack of a defined "original." Recognizing the Primary Print as the official original-equivalent of canvas originals will eliminate confusion and increase confidence in digital art purchases.
3. Establishing a Universal Standard
◦ By implementing this practice across galleries, art councils, and organizations, we can create consistency in how digital art is managed, presented, marketed, and valued.
Formal Recognition Regarding the Primary Print
I recently worked with art councils, art regulatory agencies, and professional art organizations to promote and formally recognize the concept of the Primary Print as a legitimate and standardized designation in regard to digital art as an effective and officially-accepted counterpart to original canvas works.
The list of agencies and organizations are as follows: Artists Rights Society, College Art Association, National Endowment for the Arts, Art Dealers Association of America, International Association of Art/World, International Association of Art/Europe, International Association of Art/USA, Artist Organisations International, The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Art Education Foundation, The National Art Education Association, and Americans for the Arts.
This recognition would:
• Provide artists with a clear framework for offering unique digital art prints as an accepted counterpart to original paintings on canvas—maintaining the same distinctions from Limited Edition prints, as well as increased value compared to Limited Edition prints.
• Create a standardized approach for galleries and museums to classify and honor the same distinctions for digital works as paintings on canvas.
• Offer collectors a defined method for purchasing digital art with the same confidence and distinctions as traditional canvas artwork.
So What of the Actual Digital File?
While it is essentially true that the digital file is the “original”, and the digital file is certainly subject to sale, it would not behoove the artist to sell the digital file if their intention is to sell the Primary Print and Limited Edition prints, as it would take away the value of the Primary Print and its Limited Edition prints. Such an action would be akin to a traditional canvas artist selling the original canvas and Limited Edition prints, and then printing and selling more copies—a catastrophic move that would pull the rug out from under the value of the original and its Limited Edition prints—not to mention an artist would lose all credibility and be setting themselves up for career suicide through such actions.
Official Protocol For Reproducing Digital File Prints
Therefore, the official protocol regarding the actual digital file once it is completed would be that the artist makes one of two choices:
1. Sell the file to the exclusivity of someone else to print and resell. For example, art vendors with their own sales network, or open marketplaces and stock photo vendors, such as Envato, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Adobe Stock, Vecteezy, etc.
2. Keep the file exclusively for themselves and go the route of selling Limited Edition prints and the Primary Print.
But couldn’t the original still be sold to an avid collector whose sole intention was to possess the original digital file should the Primary Print and its Limited Edition prints become popular or well known—for the sole bragging rights of saying, “I now own the original digital file of that popular painting”? After all, the digital file is the property of the artist and they are certainly free to do with it as they please.
So the answer to that question would have to be, yes, the artist is certainly welcome to sell the file in such an instance. However, once again, proper protocol must be put in place for such a circumstance. And what would that protocol be? I’m glad you asked.
Protocol For the Sale of the Original Digital File After Prints
1. The Copyright Remains With The Artist - This must be clearly stated in the sales contract. Transferring the copyright to the new owner of the digital file would affect the chain of custody and values of the Primary Print and its Limited Edition prints.
2. Limited Use Guidelines - The sales contract must explicitly state that the digital file is only for personal collection and use (computer desktop, cell phone wallpaper, screensaver, etc.) and not for further reproduction or for any commercial purpose.
3. Limited Use License (optional) - If granting a Limited Use License as part of the sale, the sales contract must explicitly state that the artist is allowing the buyer to print a set number of copies for personal use only, but not for any further distribution or commercial use. Of course such prints would have no inherent value, as the prints would have no artist signature, no Limited Edition numberings and no Certificate of Authenticity.
4. All of these protocol stipulations must be clearly defined in an official sales contract for the digital file, which must then be signed by both parties (seller and buyer) and be notarized.
Couldn’t this set the stage for unethical behavior you now ask? Always. The world is unfortunately an unethical place. However, this is no different than the possibility of the owner of an original canvas painting taking it to be scanned and surreptitiously selling prints. This happens all the time with famous artists' works illegally coming out of China as unauthorized prints for $195.00. We can not control what people do. People can and will be unethical. People break laws. The best that we can do within the art community is to ethically adhere to set protocols, which are always clearly stipulated, and hope that others do so as well.
Conclusion
The Primary Print offers a simple yet highly effective solution for addressing the gap in the digital art market regarding original canvas works, as well as their relation to Limited Edition prints. By aligning with traditional art market standards, it provides artists, collectors, and institutions with a structured method for distinguishing between, and accepting the correlation, of unique digital counterparts to original canvas paintings, as well as the Limited Edition prints of both.
Similarly, setting protocols for the effective management and handling of original digital files is a must in order to ensure their proper coexistence within the guidelines of managing and selling prints from both digital and canvas works.
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