Kelly's Studio

Art and other sparkly things.

Inky Goodness?

Posted on | June 20, 2009 | 2 Comments

I’ve been reading a book called Friends, Fans And Followers, by Scott Kirsner . Actually, that’s not the whole title–it has a colon: Building An Audience And A Creative Career In The Digital Age. It’s kind of a continuation of what I learned in the marketing seminar a few weeks ago. It’s a pretty interesting read.

One of the visual artists profiled in it is Natasha Wescoat. She really leverages social media to promote her art. She also sells prints of her work … and this got me thinking. Should I sell prints?

I poked around a little to see how prints are made. It turns out, fine art prints are made by a process called “giclée” (briefly, “zhee-clay”  is an invented name for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink jet printing). I also learned you can order these prints on-line or from a brick-and-mortar business for a WIDE variety of prices.

My cousin got me thinking about prints again this week, and she has graciously agreed to be my first “customer.” This means she has to answer lots of questions from me, including, “Paper or canvas?” for a print of “Black Heels.” We’re trying paper on her theory that a photograph should not attempt to masquerade as an original painting on canvas.

Black Heels

Black Heels

But I just got back from Photoworks, and I saw their examples of giclées on canvas, and they looked darn good. So I think there are a variety of options to suit individual preferences.

I can pick up the proof-prints from Photoworks on Wednesday after 6pm. I can’t wait! I’ll be comparing a blow-up to 12″ x 12″ at 210 pixels per inch, and a 10.5″ x 10.5″ at 240 pixels per inch. We’ll see how they stack-up.

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