Collectors Corner
You will find useful information and tips for art buyers and collectors here.
Posted January 10, 2018
On Watercolor Paper
If you are considering buying a watercolor painting, you might want to get familiar with the different grades of watercolor paper first.
There are two most important characteristics of watercolor paper - weight and texture.
The manufacturer weighs a ream of 500 sheets of paper in its uncut state and gives it a number to indicate the paper’s weight which often reflects the quality of the paper.
Typical weights for watercolor paper are:
There are three main surface textures:
Acid-free papers are made using alkaline paper making technology, keeping the pH of the pulp used to form the paper to be above 7 (neutral). The paper is also buffered with an alkaline reserve, such as calcium carbonate, to neutralize acid compounds absorbed from the atmosphere or formed through natural aging.
On Watercolor Paper
If you are considering buying a watercolor painting, you might want to get familiar with the different grades of watercolor paper first.
There are two most important characteristics of watercolor paper - weight and texture.
The manufacturer weighs a ream of 500 sheets of paper in its uncut state and gives it a number to indicate the paper’s weight which often reflects the quality of the paper.
Typical weights for watercolor paper are:
- 90-pound paper: A student grade and is rather thin. It buckles when wet and can’t endure much scrubbing for changes.
- 140-pound paper: The most popular choice among professional watercolorists for it’s fairly strong and reasonably priced.
- 300-pound paper: The heaviest grade. it costs twice what 140-pound paper costs, and takes longer to dry.
There are three main surface textures:
- Hot press: This texture is even and smooth and makes a nice surface for prints and drawings.
- Cold press: This slightly bumpy texture is the most popular texture for watercolorists. The texture allows paint to settle into the texture pockets or sit on top and skip over the pockets, creating some different painting technique options.
- Rough: Rough texture has an even bumpier surface than cold press.
Acid-free papers are made using alkaline paper making technology, keeping the pH of the pulp used to form the paper to be above 7 (neutral). The paper is also buffered with an alkaline reserve, such as calcium carbonate, to neutralize acid compounds absorbed from the atmosphere or formed through natural aging.
Posted December 14, 2017
On Giclée
Nowadays many artists choose to keep their original paintings and sell reproduced works in the form of giclée prints. The giclée is now one of the most popular reproduction methods among professional artists thanks to the advanced digital printing technology.
The limited editions of giclée prints hand-signed by the original artists could be much valuable for art collectors even though they are not original paintings.
To help art buyers and collectors understand giclée printing, we have provided some useful links here.
On Giclée
Nowadays many artists choose to keep their original paintings and sell reproduced works in the form of giclée prints. The giclée is now one of the most popular reproduction methods among professional artists thanks to the advanced digital printing technology.
The limited editions of giclée prints hand-signed by the original artists could be much valuable for art collectors even though they are not original paintings.
To help art buyers and collectors understand giclée printing, we have provided some useful links here.
