1: Defining what exactly is a hand-pulled print.
A hand-pulled print is any work of art produced in limited multiple iterations and created through a hand printed transfer process. There are four varieties of printmaking that are commonly employed by artists, and these techniques are; etching, in all of the different forms, such as a drypoint, a mezzotint, and an aquatint; silkscreen printing; lino and woodcut block relief printing; and lithography, which is a flat plane printmaking process, that relies on the property that water will not mix with oil. All of these processes are considered 'hand-pulled' methods of producing a fine art print. Hand-pulled, simply refers to the fact that each print is produced one at a time, by hand, and that no mechanized processes are used in the making of any of the following types of prints.
A Screenprint:
Silkscreen prints, also known as serigraphs, begin with an image being cut into a sheet of paper or into a plastic film using a sharp pointed knife, which creates a stencil. This stencil is then tightly fitted or bonded onto a frame which has a layer of fine mesh stretched across it, forming a 'screen' often referred to as a 'silkscreen'.
Today, silk is no longer in use and has been replaced with a polyester fabric mesh and the hand cutting of the plastic film has also been replaced with a photo transfer emulsion process. When ready for printing, a sheet of clean print paper is then placed below the pre-processed screen, and ink is then pushed or squeezed through the stencil from above, using a rubber blade known as a squeegee. Only the 'cut out' portions of the stencil will print onto the paper below. In addition to this hand-cut stenciling process, a photographic image can be reproduced onto the screen using a light-sensitive gelatin process.
Andy Warhol and other members of the 'Pop' generation used this hugely important innovation, which often involved appropriating commercial photographs and popular images and applying them in the creation of their art.
Group of Seven member A.J. Casson was an active proponent of this form of printmaking and he employed this technique for a number of series of prints he created over a twenty plus year period in his career at the Sampson & Matthews art production ompany in Toronto, where he was also the artistic director of the firm.
A Lithograph:
In this form of planographic art the artist draws onto flat plate of stone using a grease-based medium, these are normally specially prepared lithographic crayons, or in a liquid form as greasy paintable ink known as tusche. After completion of the artwork, the stone is then treated with a chemical solution that ensures the image is etched into the stone and will attract printing ink, and that the blank areas repel ink and attract water. A solvent is used to ‘fix’ the image, and the surface is then dampened with water. Oil-based ink is then applied to the stone with a roller and adheres only to the image created on the stone surface.
When ready to create the 'litho-print' the stone is placed on a lithographic press and covered with a sheet of damp 'print paper' and flat pressure board, then a pressure bar ensures the force is evenly applied across the image. The resulting image is printed in reverse, with separate stones used for more complex images or for the addition of multiple colours.
A Woodcut or Linocut:
In this type of print creation an image is sketched on to a block of wood or a section of linoleum before the surface is carved into with gouging tools and knives. The resulting raised portions of the woodblock or mounted linoleum block are then evenly coated in oil based printers ink using a roller. A sheet of paper is placed on top and then an even amount of pressure is applied, leaving an impression of the block’s raised areas in reverse.
A woodcut print can be considered the earliest form of the printmaking process. It was of particular interest to the artists and printmakers throughout time and it continues to be relevant by numerous 'artist printmakers' to the present day. No matter what country an artist comes from, you will find the woodcut or linocut print making process to be a vital part of the arts culture form that region.
2: Is a fine art print considered an original work of art.
As awareness and appreciation of artists' hand-pulled prints from the twentieth century and earlier continues to grow, the collecting public is now keenly focusing their attention on where there is good sound value to be found in vintage fine art. And, this could be an area that has been somewhat overlooked in the recent past. It's a known fact that areas of fine art that may have been overlooked in the past soon find a way of blossoming into a whole new realm of interest for upcoming serious collectors. Aficionados have been known to comment, "that once you acquire a taste and a stronger sense of fondness for fine art hand-pulled prints, your appreciation and preference will certainly continue to grow".
Although printmaking involves reproducing an artistic image, a fine art hand-pulled print is considered to be more than just a copy of a work of art and, in fact, should absolutely be treated as an original work of art on its own. Fine art prints are something entirely different when compared to mass produced prints, due to the fact that the artist produced print is created through a hands-on process which does not involve any form of mechanized production and each and every pulled print is unique. Not every artist produces their very own print copies. Printers, also known as print making studios, are the people who work with the artist to produce a final print edition. These people are highly skilled technicians, and are often artists in their own right. Some artists who do produce their own prints are often referred to as 'artist printmakers', such as the popular 20th century Canadian artist printmaker Frederick B. Taylor, RCA and others artists like him.
Artist's fine art prints are not made in large production runs intended for mass commercial consumption. They are instead produced in a modest limited number, known as an edition, usually with intended routes for sale and distribution, either through the artist's own studio, a commercial fine art gallery or a through a fine art publisher. As a result they are considered true works of art, and as important and valuable as an artist's direct drawings or sketches or other works of art on paper.
In the early to mid 20th century, in order to maintain respectability as an artist printmaker, an edition run of anywhere from 20 to 75 prints was considered the norm and editions larger than this were frowned upon by artist printmaking associations with exceptions for certain situations. But as time passed, edition numbers have gradually increased and today, an edition run of 150 to 250 prints by an artist printmaker is considered quite acceptable and within respectable bounds for the size of a modern print run edition.
A side note about mass produced commercial prints:
Consider, that the 'late 20th century school of limited edition printmaking', which fostered commercial mass production runs of anywhere from 3000 to 18000 and more hand signed copies of photolitho reproductions of artists paintings, are NOT, I repeat, NOT considered, by any means, to be fine art prints. Mass produced commercial 'limited edition' prints are directly promoted and controlled by 'big business'. This is all very well and good for big business, but it's also an excellent reason why one should study for themselves just what fine art is and what it represents. Then, first and foremost, one should always consider investing in original fine art paintings and hand-pulled prints, and maybe not investing in slickly mass produced, limited edition, 'décor' wall art.
HOME · GALLERY · CANADIAN ARTIST LIST · APPRAISALS · TESTIMONIALS · ABOUT US
ART RESTORATION · ABOUT OUR FRAMING · SITE MAP · CONTACT US
CANADIAN FINE ART PAINTINGS | ARTIST LIST · CANADIAN FINE ART PRINTS | ARTIST LIST
Designed and Developed by FineArtandAntiques.ca ©2009 - 2021