Ernst & Ernst Collectors Gallery

Frequently Asked Questions

What does sold out at publisher mean?
What is a limited edition print?
What is a remarque?
What is a fine art canvas?
What is a textured canvas?
What is a giclée canvas?
What is a canvas transfer?
What is a fine art serigraph?
What is a serilith? What is a fine art giclée?
What is a fine art lithograph?
What is a mixed media print


What does sold out at publisher mean?

Sold out at publisher does not mean you can no longer purchase the piece of art. It does mean that the piece is no longer available from the publisher at the stated list price ("the primary market"). You can request our gallery to check on the availability of the piece you are interested in on the secondary market. We will look for the piece you are inquiring about and let you know whether or not it is available and what the current market price is for that piece. You can then decide whether or not you would like our gallery to obtain it for you.

What is a limited edition print?

A limited edition print is created by a complex photo-mechanical process called “offset lithography”. This process is used to replicate original works of art onto paper. This process involves many steps.

  • It begins with photography.
  • Then the separation of the image into four “process” colors: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black.
  • This is followed by the creation of screened “half-tones” and color proofs.
  • Then the “stripping” of these halftones onto metal printing plates.
    Increasingly, the steps prior to printing are performed digitally.
  • To print, inks are carried by rubber rollers called “printing blankets” to stripped metal plates to paper. [This is where the term “offset” comes from.]
  • Each color is printed separately so the paper may go through the press numerous times.

    While the industry standard for printing offset lithographs is often only four colors, Some publishers, such as Greenwich Workshop, routinely add additional “touch” colors resulting in exceptional color, clarity, and fidelity to the orginal painting. In addition, they collaborate closely with the artist during the color proofing and correcting process. Only when the artist is satisfied is the print edition finally run and each print personally approved with the artist's signature - a process which takes many months from start to finish. The result is a limited edition fine art print which, if properly cared for, can be treasured and enjoyed for generations.
    An example is Flight of the Fablemaker by James C. Christensen.


    What is a remarque?

    A remarque is an artist's small original sketch. A remarque is usually related to an art print - a different perspective on something within the print or to highlight something within the print with additional detail. The remarque may be in pencil or in color.


    What is a fine art canvas?

    To create a fine-art canvas, offset lithographic printing is applied directly to the canvas using nearly the exact techniques by which offset lithographics prints are created. The process has been adapted for printing in this medium with excellent results. And, like an original painting, a fine art canvas offers the benefit of framing without glass. Generally, “texture” in this process comes from the canvas itself and any additional original painting and enhancements to the canvas readily stand out.

    From time-to-time, some publisher's artists, such as Greenwich Workshop artists, will hand-paint on each canvas, making each one an “original”. Greenwhich Workshop does not use a studio approach; all hand-painting is done personally by the artist.


    What is a textured canvas?

    This unique technique replicates the look and feel of an original painting, including canvas texture and the artist's original brushstrokes. The image is first printed by offset lithography with oil-based inks on a thick piece of oil-based material. A mold of the original painting can be used as a guide to create a feeling of brushstrokes, or the artist can re-create the brushstrokes him or herself. The mold is used with heat and pressure to bond the printed image to artist-quality canvas.
    An example is Council of Chiefs by Howard Terpning.


    What is a giclée canvas?

    This technique is also referred to as Iris printing, after the brand-name of a particular ink-jet printer, which is used to create limited editions on canvas as well as paper. Each second, the ink-jet printer produces over four million extremely fine droplets of ink that combine to form more than two thousand shades of color resulting in an image of execptional clarity and color fidelity.


    What is a canvas transfer?

    Canvas transfer is a generic term which typically refers to a chemical process by which inks are lifted from the original medium (usually paper) to another (canvas). Most inks, papers, and printing processes were not designed for this use, so there can be a breakdown in color. Image fidelity is difficult to control. Some publishers, such as Greenwich Workshop, do not use this method.


    What is a fine art serigraph?

    To create a serigraph is an exacting process. Also commonly known as silk screening, serigraphy is a time-honored technique, based on stenciling, for creating prints by hand. Ink or paint is carefully brushed through a fine fabric screen, portions of which have been masked for impermeability. For each color, a different portion of the screen must be masked and each color must be allowed to dry before the next is applied. Masking stencils representing up to 100 individual colors, created by a "chromist," are embedded into the fabric, and ink is passed through a squeegee on the paper creating a texture on the surface. Serigraphs are best known for rich and vibrant color. Greenwich Workshop creates their serigraphs from the original painting, and the artist can see and adjust the evolution of the colors through many proofing stages. The depth of color in the resulting fine art serigraph is almost luminous.
    An example is Intimacy by Thomas Blackshear II. More than 120 hand-applied colors were used to produce this serigraph.


    What is a serilith?

    This is a Greenwich Workshop proprietary process which combines the wonderful, soft line quality and tonal gradations of a lithograph with the brilliant color and textural range of serigraphy.
    An example is The Red Flute by Ken Riley.


    What is a fine art giclée?

    These are created by specialized printmakers who have customized ink-jet technology specifically for fine art. This technique is also called Iris Printing, after the brand-name of the particular ink-jet printer. Each second, the ink-jet printer produces over four million droplets of ink that combine to form more than two thousand shades of color.
    An example is Blackfoot Ceremonial Headdress by James Bama. This was printed on the same archival watercolor paper that Bama used for the original painting and must be treated carefully. Greenwich Workshop giclée prints on paper are identified by the chop marks of the printer and The Greenwich Workshop.


    What is a fine art lithograph?

    Fine-art lithographs are created by hand in a process that dates back to the 18th century and is the origin of the modern offset lithographic process. A separate plate is used to print each color (33 in the example, Summer Mist) and each plate is hand-drawn by the artist or a chromiste. The plates are printed one at a time and each color is allowed to dry before the next one is printed, giving the artist an opportunity to see how the colors are building and to make changes, if necessary.
    An example is Summer Mist by Paul Landry. A Greenwich Workshop “fine art” lithograph is published from an original painting; an “original” lithograph is created directly on the plates without an origianl painting as a guide. The Greenwich Workshop does not overlook this distinction.


    What is a mixed media print?

    This is a print that has been created with a variety of traditional print-making processes to best express the artist's work.
    An example is Summer Potpourri by Paul Landry.



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