Limited edition or an original painting?
22nd August 2019 Blog Tags: art, art blog, art collectors, blog, collecting art, fine art, fine art print, giclee, limited editions, New Forest, orginals, paintings, prints
Firstly, a quick explanation on the difference; Limited edition prints are copies of an artists original work. There are a ‘limited’ number that can be printed with anything ranging from around 25 up to 2500. They are hand signed and numbered by the artists, and more increasingly some artists ‘hand embellish’ the work too, to make each print totally unique.
They can be digital prints, fine art prints (Giclee) or printed on canvas. We stock Giclee prints at the gallery, meaning all our prints are professionally printed on archival quality paper, using wide format inkjet printers with pigmented inks so they are built to last and stay as new for many years.
Original works are a unique piece of work that is a complete one off, artist might do several paintings that are similar, such as a series or their style means that they have one subject they do multiple interpretations of, like Nicky Chubb. She is well known for her beautiful tree paintings, some of her most popular work is the pink blossom trees on a blue sky background, however each one differs from the next, even if subtlety, they are all ‘original’ .
So which one to go for?
This is often down to pure economics, as a rule limited edition prints are much cheaper to buy than originals. If you can’t afford an original from a favourite artist then if they do prints its the next best thing. The quality of our prints are so good that, in some cases when showing customers the Claire Wiltsher prints, people have touched the print expecting to feel the paint!
Scale of the Matter 7
60cm x 60cm
Limited Edition Print by Claire Wiltsher
Location can be a factor; paper based prints are always framed and therefore behind glass, this might be more practical in a small kitchen where there is a danger of a canvas piece being damaged through fat particles from frying or splashes.
My preference?
Like most people I have a limited budget, so at home I have a mixture of prints and originals. I tend to have bigger prints, where its out of my budget to buy the originals at that size. I put them in a large spaces that needs covering, like the hallway or dinning area . I have two large statement originals pieces both given on special occasions in the living room and some a few smaller ones from well known and lesser known artists in our bedroom where wall space is limited. I think the variation keeps my collection interesting.
For some examples of prints we stock go to Claire Wiltsher, Micheal Saunders or Kate Richardson’s page. Or check out our most recently launched Limited edition from John Connolly, the beautiful Sea of Bluebells!
Next time on the blog…. Options for hanging your artwork
