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Have you ever wondered... About color pencil artwork? The originals you have seen were all done in professional quality color pencils on acid-free 500 weight (thick, textured) paper. "Acid-free means that the paper will never change color, like some photos that degrade over time. Color pencil is one of the most direct ways of applying pigment to paper. I apply color lightly, and painstakingly with the tip of the pencil, layer upon layer until I achieve the effect that I am looking for. Color pencil does not erase well, so mistakes must be avoided. Great care must be taken that the surface texture of the paper is not flattened because if the layers of color blend too soon the result is too waxy to achieve any detail. The goal is for the individual colors to stay on the surface texture of the paper so that your eye can blend them from a distance.
Artwork created in color pencil can take anywhere from a week to many months (depending on
the size and subject). After it is finished, the surface of the picture is sprayed lightly
with a fixative. Precision must also be used here because, if it is sprayed too heavily,
some of the colors will change.
A print is a copy of an original work of art which has been reproduced by a process that enables it to be multiplied. It is a means for the public to purchase a reproduction of a valuable original, at a better price. Artificial rarity is created by producing limited and numbered editions in the printing, hence, the name "limited edition print". The color separations and printing plates are destroyed after the edition is completed. The smaller the number printed, the more rare, and valuable, the print. The prints are each signed and numbered by the artist, usually in pencil. The artist signs on the lower right margin and numbers the prints on the lower left margin. A number such as 101/800 means that you are looking at print number 101 from an edition of 800. There are usually extra prints in the edition. These are labeled "artist's proof", "AT", or anything similar. Originally, artist's proofs were the first prints to come off the press, and matched to the original, but with today's high quality presses, artist's proofs are identical to the regular reproductions except for their label. It is unethical for the number of artist's proofs to be too large, and are usually limited to 10 or 15% of an edition. Some artists price their artist's proofs higher than the numbered prints.
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Cool Critter Studio
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