The Creative
Process
Understanding
the various media employed by artist can be important in determining
the quality and value of a particular painting or print. Original works
of art are created with oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel and pen and
ink. Original prints are most often made by using one of the following
printing processes: giclee, lithography, etching, serigraphy, and relief
printing. A brief synopsis of these common printing techniques follows:
Giclee
Untitled Abstract
I
by
Su Allen
Austin, Texas
Refers
to a technology brought forth by a machine called the Iris. Giclee (pronounced
Zhee-Clay) is a French word coined in the 17th Century that translates
to “squirt.” The giclee printing process involves squirting
microscopic dots of ink onto fine quality paper or canvas. On paper,
the inks are actually absorbed slightly and blend to create fine art
reproductions that are often indistinguishable from the originals. On
canvas, the process yields prints of stunning vibrancy and realism.
The support material, paper or canvas, is carefully attached to a spinning
drum while infinitely small pixels or rich, vibrant archival inks are
sprayed at a very high speed. It is the newest of all reproductive processes.
Lithograph
Pensive
by
Malcom Leipke
New York, NY
To
produce a lithograph, the artist draws on limestone slab with a grease
crayon or with tusche (liquid ink). Water is spread over the stone and
covers only the areas not drawn on. Ink is rolled over the stone, adhering
to the greasy lines drawn by the artist, but not to those areas covered
by the water. Paper is placed over the surface and a print made in a
special press. Today, atists use various materials, from aluminum plates
to acetate sheets, to create lithographs.
Etching
Here
the medium is a copper or zinc plate coated with acid resistant varnish.
The artist draws the design through the varnishing coating. The plate
is then immersed in acid and the lines are etched in the metal plate.
When inked and pressed in a press, a printed impression of the design
results.
Serigraph
Temple of
the Emerald Buddha
by
Geoffrey Graham
Austin, Texas
The
artist uses a tightly stretched screen, often silk, and covers the screen
with a varnish-like substance to block out the areas he does not want
to print. Ink is then forced through the screen onto the paper, printing
only through the unvarnished sections.
Relief Printing
In
making a relief print, a block of material often wood or linoleum, is
used instead of a metal plate. The artist uses sharp tools to cut the
design into the surface of the block, removing all the undesired surface
and leaving his original design on the block. The design is then inked
and applied to paper.
Jewelry and
Woodworking
(click individual artist
name to view bio)
