Post 592: The Artistry Spin Blog for Artists, PWAS Members

The Artistry Spin Blog for Artists, PWAS Members

Are you on your Phone? Many artists are when they are on the internet, which means the view of the website you are perusing might be a condensed view to fit the phone screen than on a laptop or full sized monitor. There are some options you may not see at a quick glance. Artists desiring to see and learn more about the Prince William Art Society should follow the art group's blog, called Artistry Spin, which can provide answers to art questions! When you need to know more about PWAS or important art topics, this blog post shows where to find what you need to know.

 

The ever changing PWAS Artistry Spin Blog Home Page

Blog Posts are individual "articles" published on a blog that can include photos, videos, and text displayed in reverse chronological order.

Blog Pages, shown as top Navigational Tabs on the Artistry Spin blog, highlight where to find very important and specific art topics of interest to artists.

Home Page Tab

PWAS Artistry Spin Blog main page where the most recent blog post is listed at the beginning. Home

This blog archives the art history in many ways of the art group from the most recent blog post first, going back in time to the beginning of the blog in August 2021. The very first post was the history of PWAS - including some things you may not know about PWAS.

These Tabs are blog pages that are in the top navigation of the blog that are periodically updated if information has changed, for clarity, or whatever. Click on an image to enlarge.

Membership Tab

The information about PWAS art group, what we do, the benefits of being a member, and how to join on the PWAS website where you can safely pay the annual membership fee online, add your artist showcase page, or become a sponsor. Membership

 

PWAS Membership Page but the actual link to join PWAS is on the PWAS Website HERE. 

Display Tab

This is the most visited page on the entire blog and perhaps arguably the most important. The Prince William Art Society, much like other art groups or art galleries, has requirements on how the artist members are expected to prepare their artwork for Display

 

Professional Art Display Requirements Page 

Call for Art Tab

This page explains the basics of submitting your artwork(s) to enter an art show or the PWAS Art Store. Call for Art

 

Basic Tips for Calls for Art Page 

Lessons Tab

These are lessons learned after years of working art shows, both indoors and outdoors, especially as an art group. Definitely some Do's and Don'ts, but all great advice for all artists. Lessons

 

Lessons Learned at an Indoor/Outdoor Art Show Page

Pricing Tab

Probably the most often asked question by an artist is about pricing their art, another must-read. Pricing

 

Art Pricing Page 

Commissions Tab

Art Commissions can mean 2 very different things. Artists need to understand BOTH uses of the word. Commissions

 

Commissioning Your Artwork Page 

Art NTK Tab

You know the saying, "I wish I knew then what I know now"? Well, for artists, this is Art Need to Know and is an outline to help newer artists see and find info on art topics you will need. As blog posts are written referencing a NTK topic, links to those posts are added. Art NTK  

 

Art Need to Know Page 

Blog Gallery Tab

As PWAS Members write their own Interviews, become a Featured Artist, and/or Spotlight Artist, a member image and links can be added to this page. Look at similar artists in the gallery and send the Blog Admin your story. Blog Gallery

 

PWAS Member Art Gallery Page 

Volunteering Tab

Art groups, especially non-profit groups, some art galleries and art shows very often are populated by people that volunteer and are not paid to do the task, project, coordinate an art show, position, or job that they are "working". Non-Profit art groups are made up of Executive Board Members which are also volunteers. Volunteering

Art Group, Volunteering and Gallery Worker Training Page

Prints Tab

Prints and Framing is another very important artist topic that people ask about. Prints

 

About Giclee and Art Prints Page 

Art Reception Tab

At some point, you as an artist, either solo, in an art group, or in an art gallery may be tasked to hold an art reception. This page is dedicated to a Suggestion and Check List of To-Dos for an Art Reception

 

Art Reception Check List and Suggestions Page 

How to Art Show Tab

How about an Art Show Check List for the items you may need when you are in an art show as a solo artist or with an art group. Copy the entire list for yourself. How to Art Show

 

How to Art Show Page 

NOVA Art Tab

There are art groups apparently in every county here in Northern Virginia, and this page attempts to show what is out there and nearby. NOVA Art

 

NOVA - Northern Virginia Art Page  

How to Blog Tab

Yes, there are folks that don't know what a blog is, does, or has in it. How to Use This Blog

 

How to Use This Blog Page 

Comments Tab

About commenting on the blog (which we LOVE), how not to be "Anonymous", and blog guidelines. Comments

 

About the Blog Comments and Blog Guidelines Page 

Schedule Tab

The Blog Admin is always on the lookout for content for the blog, which tells the history of the art group in so many ways. This page looks at how YOU as an artist - in the art group -  can be a part of many blog posts which can promote yourself and your artwork. Learn how to the featured artist on this tab. Schedule

 

Blog Schedule and About Blog Posts Page 

ART Tab

This page on the blog is dedicated to listing art blog post series and art topics, gathering the links under a general heading for that grouping of posts. For example, the Composition Series, The Tech Series, and Art Organization Posts.  ART

 

ART Page

Art Store Tab

The PWAS Art Store and the PWAS Showcase are not the same things or website places. Information on what the Buyers and the Artists can expect when purchasing art from the PWAS Online Art Store

 

How the PWAS Art Store Works Page 

Basics Tab

Not all artists are familiar with a variety of topics that must be dealt with. This is a page dedicated to the Basic information about everything from portfolios, websites, watermarks, art documents, insurance, business, POS, Taxes, Inventory, Backups and much more. See the Basics

 

Art Business Basics Page 

FAQs Tab

Frequently Asked Questions that are posed to the Prince William Art Society. FAQs

 

Frequently Asked Questions Page 

PWAS Tab

A link to the Prince William Art Society Website. PWAS

 

Prince William Art Society's Website 

Other Important Blog Features

PWAS Artistry Spin blog right side navigation has features you may need to use to find out more. 

• Search This Blog - type in a keyword or phrase
• PWAS Snack Signup for Meetings - a link to Signup Genius
• How to find the PWAS Chat Group on Facebook - a private, current members ONLY Facebook group.
• Subscribe to PWAS Artistry Spin - so you can be the first to know.
• PWAS Upcoming Events, Shows, Calls and More - PWAS shows and some area shows you should be aware of.
• PWAS Art Store QR Code - if you are in the Art Store, use this code to promote your artwork.
• PWAS Meetings coming up - the dates of the next meetings.
• Artistry Spin Blog Archive - by year and month - when searching for a topic or story of interest.
• Artistry Spin Labels, Tags, Keywords - click on a word of interest
• All-Time Most Popular Posts on Spin
• PWAS Members Shared Links - do you have a website? List it here.
• Art Blogs to Follow

It Is ON the Blog

Occasionally at our PWAS meetings (which are once a month on the fourth Monday of the month), I hear artists ask questions that are very often answered on the PWAS Artistry Spin blog. Or when out at art shows, someone asks a question about the PWAS art group - answered on the group's website and often more in depth on the blog. 

In my mind, especially for someone wanting to learn more about what PWAS is or does, I'm hearing the words in my head, "the answer is...It's in the blog!" Since I'm the Blog Admin and mainly the writer of 90-95% of it, I've tried to cover and archive the history of what we've done since the blog started in August 2021. 

There are photos and recaps of our art shows, meetings, guest artists, our members, and our Christmas parties. There are artist interviews, editorials, How Tos, and innumerable art tips often given by the PWAS members on so many art topics and advice. That's a LOT of years of art experience for you to browse! 

And this post makes the 592nd blog post in the blog's history.

So I hope you find what you need on this blog to help you in your own art career. How has the blog helped you? Consider dropping a Comment below.

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 568: Photographing Your Artwork To Make Prints

Photographing Your Artwork To Make Prints

by Tom Payne

Photographing artwork is done for many different purposes.  

One purpose is submitting images to be juried for an art show. This can be done with some practice and minimal equipment after watching a few YouTube videos.  In this case, the quality of the image and the size of the file may not be very important.   Here is a good video to watch for this purpose:   https://youtu.be/WIe-KuDAkkc

 

Photo by Heshan Perera on Unsplash

Photographing your artwork for the purpose of making and selling high quality prints is a worthwhile venture. Many artists pride themselves on selling individual, one of a kind, artworks for customers who have the financial wherewithal to afford that kind of purchase.  

In addition to offering original one offs, artists may also want to provide more affordable print products for customers to consider (such as artist note cards and frame-able mat prints in different sizes).  For this purpose, good camera equipment, lighting, and image editing software are needed in order to create high resolution images that show your paintings accurately, whether it’s for a pop up show or for your website.  Here is a good video that shows this process:  https://youtu.be/zsqiPscQQCE   

As a photographer, I have the high resolution camera equipment necessary to shoot artwork in a studio setting and would be happy to chat with PWAS members who are interested in learning, with me, how to photograph their work.  

If you’re serious and would like to sell note cards and mat prints, I recommend that you spend what you can afford and buy a good photo printer. Stick with Epson or Canon.  Go to B&H Photo and shop around and look at videos for a printer that meets your needs. B&H is the best place to buy. Trust me. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

You can purchase quality photo papers and note card stock from B&H Photo as well.  When purchasing photo paper you might wish to purchase a sample pack that includes examples of different finishes, mat, glossy, premium luster, watercolor etc… There are a ton of different types of papers to experiment with. 

If you don’t have or don’t want to buy a printer, you must choose a good professional printer.  My advice is to use the printers trusted by professional photographers.  My favorite printer for paper prints is Mpix.   Visit the website and spend some time familiarizing yourself with the various options and products available. You will not be disappointed in the quality of their work. www.mpix.com.   

If you are interested in making canvas, acrylic, or metal prints, I highly recommend ProPrints. I get all my big canvas prints from them and they stand behind their work.  https://www.proprints.com/    

When selling your prints, it is important that they be matted, suitable for framing, and in sealed clear bags.  I get my mat boards, backer boards, and clear bags, in standard sizes from Matboard Plus.  Purchase supplies in bulk, mat your own prints and you will be good to go.  Check them out here: https://www.matboardplus.com/conservation-mat-board-show-kits/

 

Photo by Jonny Caspari on Unsplash

If you’ve never made a mounted print, don’t worry, it is easy.  Here is a good video showing the CORRECT way to do it with acid free products. https://youtu.be/VYUVC8cc838

I hope these references and tips are helpful as you explore the world of photography and how you can create fine art prints to augment the sale of your artworks.  Contact me anytime!  Make some art and enjoy today!! 

Tom Payne Relief Artworx

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Author: Tom Payne, PWAS Member-at-Large

 

Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 386: Art Tips 10 - Printing

Art Tips, Tricks, and More...10

You never know when you might hear an art tip about something that is just the suggestion that will solve an issue for you or help you and your work in some way. This is an ongoing series of tips and I would LOVE to have your suggestions as well!

 

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash

Art Tips, Advice, Suggestions on Printing your Art

This is a particularly large art tip post, as this is an important topic for all artists.

First, let's understand the ways to create your art prints. AND most importantly, you must ALWAYS have a great image of the art to begin with, and DO THE RESEARCH to understand what you are getting into. There are definitely costs to not only creating prints yourself or outsourcing the work. And there could also be costly mistakes.

Giclee Printing Business and/or Online - there are online printing shops that are highly reliable in creating great quality prints as well as your local print shops. Ask your fellow artists what their recommendations are - or - ask for samples before ordering. (Pronounced zhee-clay)

DropShipping - there are also companies that will handle the entire printing process for you including shipping and sometimes signing and numbering. Some artists like to handle the signing, numbering then the shipping themselves to personalize the experience for their customers, so see what works for your needs.

Giclee Printing Do-It-Yourself - some artists have professional (great quality) printers at home and create their own prints in sizes as dictated in the minimum to maximum sizes allowed by their printer.

Offset Lithographic Printing - "Offset printing, also called offset lithography, is a method of mass-production printing in which the images on metal plates are transferred (offset) to rubber blankets or rollers and then to the print media." - TechTarget.com

3 Printing Tips from PWAS Treasurer, Mark Murphy:

1. When selling prints of your art through PWAS, we ask that you only offer art quality prints.  This starts with a clear, high resolution image that appropriately reflects the colors and values of your original.  There are numerous websites with hints on how to do this on your own, but there are also local photographers whose output might warrant the expense for your best work.

 
2. The gold standard for printing images of your art is a "giclée print".  Giclée quality prints are typically produced using inkjet printers (giclée comes from the French word to spray) with high resolution (>300 dpi), colorfast pigment ink (preferred over dye ink), and archival paper (neutral or alkaline pH to prevent yellowing and brittleness).  The number of pigments used to produce the image is also important. Printers with six or more pigments can produce colors closer to the original art, twelve different pigments is typically the high end.  Most home and small office printers are incapable of producing the needed quality.  I've had good luck with Giclee Today but there are dozens of online sites providing this service.  While likely more expensive, I've heard that Old Town Editions provides professional results for the entire process. 

 
3. Be careful to properly size the paper and the image.  I recommend sticking to sizes that fit premade mats and frames.  Here is a reference table that I made for myself.  I set up documents in PhotoShop corresponding to all the standard paper sizes onto which I paste my images.  Each document has a layer that adds a consistent white border around the image, giving it a professional look.  I temporarily turn on a mat layer so that I can confirm that the image is properly sized and centered in the mat opening.

Frame Size	Mat Opening	Image Size	Paper Size
12" x 12"	7.5" x 7.5"	8" x 8"	10" x 10"
11" x 14"	7.5" x 9.5"	8" x 10"	10" x 12"
16" x 20"	10.5" x 13.5"	11" x 14"	12" x 16"
18" x 24"	11.5" x 17.5"	12" x 18"	14" x 20"
20" x 24"	15.5" x 19.5"	16" x 20"	18" x 22"
24" x 36"	19.5" x 29.5"	20" x 30"	22" x 32"

 

3+ Printing Tips from Donna Liguria, PWAS Blog Artistry Spin Admin

 

4. From Mark Murphy's recommendation, I've been using GicleeToday's Epson Premium WC paper and have had very good results. Allow about 2 weeks for order delivery - but closer to major holidays, order well in advance!

 

 

August 2023 GicleeToday Pricing for Epson Premium per Print (+ Shipping)

5. Prints must be packaged correctly for galleries and art shows. Not only for display regulations but for the protection of your own investment in your prints and the customer's in getting the print purchase home safely. The backing board should be the same size if not a bit larger than the print to prevent folding and bending damage. I order backboards, mat boards, occasionally chip boards, and archival clear bags from Amazon. Golden State Art Crystal Clear Acid-Free Sleeves and Backing Boards have been good options. Consider also Avery Self-Adhesive Labels, Self-inking Stamp (as a Template), Business Cards and Certificates of Authenticity. See Display

 
6. When you go to an art show or a gallery - look at their print stand display and get a ball-park idea of pricing and packaging ideas. Pretty packaging along with a great print says a lot.

7. See if the printing company you are researching will send sample papers for your prints. There may be a fee involved to cover shipping.

8. Giclee Help and Tutorials

9. 5 Pro Tips for Preparing Photos for Printing

10. Selling Prints - HUGE MISTAKES I Wish I Didn't Make! YouTube Video

11. Everything You Need to Know About Giclee Prints

12. How To Make Giclée Prints YouTube Video

Art Prints, too me, are the bread and butter for an artist. While many art admirers may enjoy your art, they may not be able to afford the original paintings, or perhaps the size of the work is more than they have room for. But they may love supporting your efforts by purchasing a much more affordable and standard sized art print. 

Art Prints are also a way of continued income for your artwork originals that have sold or been commissioned. YOU still own the copyright to the work. So make sure you get pictures (GREAT pictures!) of all your work.

For further reading:

Wildlifeartstore How to Make Prints of Your Art: A Complete Printing Guide (2023)

PrintSafari 10 Tips and Tricks of Printing for Artists

ArtinContext How to Make and Sell Prints of Your Art - Complete Guide 

FineArtTutorials How to Make Art Prints: The Ultimate Giclee Printing Guide

Art Tips is a series of blog posts with 12 tips per post. See the rest of the Art Tips Series on this page for more tidbits of advice: https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/p/art.html

Send me YOUR art tips too or drop them in the comments below. AND let me know if you find an art tip here that you LOVE!

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Author: Mark Murphy

An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA

 

Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA and Artistry Spin Blog Admin, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, Donna's Etsy site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 52-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!