Acrylic
A fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints are water-soluble, but become water-resistant when dry.
After, Estate or Posthumous Editions
This is an edition printed from a matrix usually after the death of the artist. Note the term after can also apply to a print that was created after a painting or drawing as well. These works have usually been authorized by the artist's heirs or is the product of a publisher who previously purchased the matrix from the artist. It should be limited in some way (though not necessarily hand-numbered) or it becomes simply a limitless restrike. Posthumous editions of prints that were pencil signed in their original edition frequently bear stamped signatures authorized by the artist's heirs or the publisher.
Aquatint
An etching process in which tone is created by treating a plate with fine particles of acid resistant material (like powder resin) and then placing the plate in an acid bath. The acid bites into the plate between the grains of resin and when printed, the mass of tiny spots produces a textured area with tonal effects similar to watercolor wash.
Arches Paper
Arches paper is a brand of air-dried paper that is used by printers and watercolorists. It has a warm white colour and is produced in hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough varieties. Arches paper is made in the village of Arches in the Vosges, France.
Artist's Proof (AP or EA)
Artist's Proofs (Épreuve d'Artiste) is a print exactly the same as those from the complete edition run in quality and image though they are outside the numbered edition. They are identified with ‘A.P.’, ‘E.A.’ or ‘Artist’s Proof’ on the impression. They are often retained by the artist or publisher.
Assemblage
A sculpture created out of common everyday (found) objects and other common art materials.
Attributed To
Works with this designation are works that appear to by the artist but cannot be confirmed.
BFK Rives Paper
Very popular printmaking paper. Rives paper is made typically in France of 100% cotton is acid free, soft and buffered. Rives is perfectly suited for all types of prints.
Bon à Tirer
Meaning ‘good to pull’ in French, this term refers to the first print the artist decides to use for an edition run.
Bronze
A brown/orange color alloy metal of copper with up to one-third tin.
Burr
When using a drypoint needle or other engraving tool to draw directly into a metal plate, small, fine pieces of metal are raised up on both sides of the scored line. This burr holds additional ink during the printing process and gives the lines velvety of fuzzy texture. Burr is very delicate and consequently is easily worn down during the pressures of the printing process. Early pulls or impressions taken from such plates are characterized by rich burr. In the case of Old Master Prints especially, the quantity and evidence of burr can sometimes be used as an aid in determining how early the impression was pulled.
Cancellation Proof
When the edition is complete, the matrix - a block, plate, stone, mylar, or other - is affected, crossed out or otherwise ‘cancelled’. An impression is then taken from this matrix, showing that the plate has been ‘cancelled’. This ensures that no further impressions can be pulled.
Carborundum
The trade name for silicon carbide, carborundum began its use in printmaking as an abrasive which was used in effacing lithographic stones. The particles, when mixed together with glue can also be used to draw on a plate - sometimes creating a raised surface - which is then inked and printed with the ink being held in the spaces between the particles. The resulting prints are often textured due to the raised areas of the printing surface.
Catalogue Raisonné
A scholarly catalogue which should include all the known works by an artist at the time of publication. Essential information by which works are identified is included.
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate.
Ceramic
A solid material comprising an inorganic compound of metal, non-metal or ionic and covalent bonds. Common examples are earthenware, pottery, porcelain, and brick.
Charcoal
A form of dry art medium made of finely ground organic materials that are held together by a gum or wax binder or produced without the use of binders by eliminating the oxygen inside the material during the production process. Charcoal can produce lines that are very light or intensely black, while being easily removable, yet vulnerable to leaving stains on paper. The dry medium can be applied to almost any surface from smooth to very coarse.
Chine-collé
A process in which one sheet of paper is adhered to another by pressuring, usually a thin paper laminated to backing during the print process.
Chop
An identifying mark embossed on a print to identify the workshop, printer or publisher. A blind stamp is the same as chop but stamped with ink on verso of the print.
Chromogenic Color Print (C-Print or C-Type)
Is a photographic print made from a color negative, transparency, or digital image, and developed using a chromogenic process. They are composed of three layers of gelatin, each containing an emulsion of silver halide, which is used as a light-sensitive material, and a different dye coupler of subtractive color which together, when developed, form a full-color image. Term commonly used for most color photography. Also known as a silver halide print, or a dye coupler print.
Clean-Up Drawing
A traced image of a rough animation drawing, usually done by an animator’s assistant either by retracing a rough sketch on a new sheet or by drawing directly over the rough sketch.
Collage
A technique of composing a work of art by gluing or pasting on a single surface various usually paper materials.
Collagraph
Refers to a combination of relief and print made on any flat surface using different textures. Usually, it is done by inking a plate with intaglio ink using a paintbrush, roller or some combination.
Collotype
A printing process for making high-quality prints from a sheet of light-sensitive gelatin exposed photographically to the image without using a screen.
Colophon (Justification)
A note, usually at the end of a book or portfolio of prints, giving all or some of the following information: name of work, author, printer, place of printing, date, size of edition.
Color Separations
Proofs of each separate color of a multicolor print.
Coventry Rag Paper
Is one of the most versatile papers and can be used for all fine art techniques. Its machine made in the USA of 100% cotton. The paper is pH neutral.
Deckle Edge
The uneven edge on handmade paper.
Die-Cut
To cut clean, consistent edges using a hydraulic press with rollers. A custom metal (sheet) die is created to cut a pattern or shape into the paper or other media.
Digital or Inkjet Prints
Artists who create their works digitally or use digital manipulation in order to create a print may print them on computer using a large scale inkjet printer. The ink is dispersed by a sophisticated print head in a fine mist of minute droplets in order to deliver a continuous tone image. "Iris" prints are made using an inkjet printer manufactured by IRIS. These prints can be made using highly saturated, archival water based inks on a wide range of materials, from traditional art papers to fabrics and wood veneers. Epson printers use pigment-based archival inks rather than water based inks.
Diptych
An artwork that was created as two separate works that connect visually either horizontally or vertically when lined up. Only one of the works may be signed by the artist as the work is not to be sold as separate works.
Drypoint
Drawing on metal plate with a needle of hard steel, often with a diamond point. The burr that is formed along the edge of the line traps the link for a soft rich effect.
Edition
Total number of prints pulled from one image and represents the largest body of work for sale from that image. These prints are consecutively numbered to show that the edition is limited by publisher or artist.
Embossing
A process used to create a raised surface or raised element, but printed without ink.
Enamel
A glossy, decorative coating that is applied to metal or pottery to make it shinier and sometimes sturdier.
Encaustic
Involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. The liquid or paste is then applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other materials are often used. also known as hot wax painting.
Engobe
A white or colored clay slip coating applied to a ceramic body to give it decorative color or improved texture. A clay slip which is colored with metal oxides or stains, used for coating the surface of a pot either before or after bisque firing.
Engraving
A method of drawing that employs a burin or graver to cut or incise on a metal plate.
Etching
The printing process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In traditional pure etching, a metal (usually copper, zinc or steel) plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed etching needle where they want a line to appear in the finished piece, exposing the bare metal. The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it). The paper picks up the ink from the etched lines, making a print.
Fillet
Used in framing, a small, flat band separating two surfaces, typically in the corners of a frame or between the plexiglass and the frame.
Floated
In framing, using hinging tape to mount the artwork to a backing board. This will create the appearance of the artwork floating within the frame instead of framing the work under a mat.
Foamcore
Is a lightweight and easily cut material used for mounting of photographic prints, as backing for picture framing, for making scale models, and in painting.
Found Object
An artwork created utilizing collage/assemblage of seemingly random everyday items such as clocks, hardware, ephemera, etc...
Frontispiece
An illustrated page opposite the title page in a book.
Gelatin Silver Print
The most common photographic printing process, introduced in the 1880s. These prints are made with silver halides suspended in a layer of gelatin on fibre based paper. They are developed using the three-bath chemistry of developer, stop, and fixer, and can be chemically toned to alter the finished look of the print.
Gesso
A white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these.
Giclée
Giclée is a neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne for fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers.
Gouache
A paint with opaque pigments ground in water and thickened with a glue-like substance.
Graphite (Pencil)
A soft, dark grey form of carbon, used in the middle of pencils.
Handmade Paper
Paper formed by a hand held mold, cast or matrix.
Heliogravure
A method of making a photo - etched or photogravure plate using an aquatint texture directly on the plate to create tone.
Hinge Tape
This is the material used in floating an artwork in a frame and sometimes has other applications in framing. The function of securing the artwork either to the backing board or to the mat board without permanently altering the artwork. Hinges should also be removable with either water or a small amount of alcohol.
Illustration Board
Illustration board provides a stiff, strong surface to work on without the need for mounting. They come in various weights and finishes. The illustration drawing board has drawing paper mounted on both sides of a heavyweight artboard.
Impression
A term applied to any artwork created with a printing element.
In the Style of
An artwork by an artist (usually unknown) who has been inspired by a well known artist to recreate a work signed in their name. These are unauthorized copies that are clearly less masterful.
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, or quill. Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing.
Intaglio
A general term covering the printing process such as engraving, aquatint, mezzotint, etching. Any process in which the image is cut, engraved or etched below the surface of the plate.
Laser-Cut
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to slice materials. The focused laser beam is directed at the material, which then either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish.
Letterpress
Is a technique of relief printing using a printing press, a process by which many copies are produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper.A worker composes and locks movable type into the "bed" or "chase" of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper.
Lightjet
A brand of hardware used for printing digital images to photographic paper and film, often used to describe a digitally-made chromogenic print.
Linocut
A printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed.
Lithograph
A print created using flat stones or metal plates. The artist creates a lithograph by drawing an image directly onto the printing element using materials like lithograph crayons or special grease pencils. After this, the drawing is transferred from the plate to the paper in multiples. A lithograph will not have dots when examined with a magnifying glass.
Mat
A thin, flat piece of paper-based material included within a picture frame, which serves as additional decoration and to perform several other, more practical functions, such as separating the art from the glass.
Matrix
The base from which the print is made. This can be anything - a standard metal plate or lithographic stone, a potato or vinyl record, a stencil - anything from which you print.
Mezzotint
A printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple.
Mica Paint
An automotive paint is a pearlized paint that creates a multicolored effect on vehicles. It is made with mica, a crystalline mineral.
Monoprint or Monotype
A print which the image is made on a non-absorbent surface, such as glass or Plexiglass, drawn with ink or paint. The image is transferred to paper by rubbing the back of the paper on the plate with a rubbing tool or by hand. Only one print may be made by this method. Or any other method that makes only one impression.
Moulding (Molding)
In framing, this is the term for the actual frame, design and material (i.e. black wood with bevel), at RoGallery primarily made of wood. Picture frame mouldings come in a wide variety of profiles, generally in some sort of L shape with an upward "lip" and a horizontal rabbet.
Newsprint
Is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material.
Offset Lithograph
A planographic process in which the inked impression is taken from the plate and rubber covered cylinder which then transfers the image it has picked up to the paper.
Oil
Process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. Commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil.
On Request
If the price on an artwork has this designation please contact us at (+1)718-937-0901 or art@rogallery.com to discuss the current pricing as the pricing for this work may fluctuate.
Paper Construction
Building an artwork using a variety of papers, using collage and other molding techniques.
Papier-mâché
A malleable mixture of paper and glue, or paper, flour, and water, that becomes hard when dry.
Pastel
An art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.
Patinated
A metal sculpture usually bronze, having a green or brown film produced by oxidation.
Photo Printing Processes
Includes: photo engraving, photogravure, photoscreenprint, photolithography
These printing processes all involve the use of light sensitive emulsion to transfer photographic images onto a plate or screen which are then processed for printing
Photograph
An image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of what the human eye would see.
Pigment Ink Print
Usually using archival pigment this is a digital high-resolution inkjet digital printing process. The pigmented ink consists of a very fine powder of solid colorant particles suspended in a liquid carrier.
Plate Mark
In intaglio (etching) prints the pressure of the press causes the plate to leave a mark of its surface dimensions upon the paper.
Plate Signed
An artwork where the signature is present in the image matrix of the artwork that is printed, this work is not hand-signed by the artist unless noted additionally.
Plexiglass
A transparent thermoplastic often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. The same material can be used as a casting resin, in inks and coatings, and has many other uses. Please note all items custom framed by RoGallery will be framed with plexiglass and not actual glass, this material is lightweight and unlike glass cannot shatter and harm the artwork.
Pochoir
A process used for hand coloring prints by using brushes or stencils or any method the artist chooses.
Porcelain
A ceramic material made by heating materials, generally including kaolin, in a kiln to very high temperatures. The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures.
Portfolio
A collection of artworks (typically prints) put together by an artist or a group of artists on a theme, in a limited edition. Usually comprised of unbound sheets but also sometimes bound as a book.
Poster
Typically created as a temporary promotional print to be put up or handed out in a public space for mass consumption. Posters can be printed as lithographs, screenprints, or offset printing most typically.
Printer or Master Printer
A highly skilled printer who works very closely with the artist to produce the edition.
Printer's Proof (PP)
This impression is exactly like the edition and is the property of the printers responsible for the pulling of the edition. When written on a print this term is commonly abbreviated to P.P.
Prints
Unlike paintings or drawings, prints generally exist in multiple examples. They are created by drawing a composition not directly on paper but on another surface, called a matrix, and then, by various techniques, printing that image on paper. Those techniques may involve the use of one or another kind of printing press and ink, or the image may be transferred by pressing the paper by hand onto the ink surface of the matrix and rubbing. Multiple impressions are made by printing new pieces of paper from the matrix in the same way. The total number of impressions an artist decides to make for any one image is called an edition. In modern times each impression in an edition is signed and numbered by the artist, but this is a relatively recent practice becoming more common practice in the 1960s.
Progressive Proofs
Series of proofs taken to show each individual color plate and each combination of them culminating in the final complete version.
Publisher
The person or entity who subsidizes and often initiates the making of a print edition or portfolio and who also distributes the prints.
Pull
In printmaking, to transfer the ink to paper.
Registration Marks
Marks used by the printer to line up the paper with area to be printed.
Relief Printing
A process of printing in which the non-printed areas have been cut away from a block or plate.
Remarque
Drawings or experimental marks usually in the margins of the print, to be removed before the work is editioned. The prints with these marks are called remarque proofs.
Restrike
The print or a whole edition pulled from formerly printed plates, blocks, stones, pr stencils after the original edition has been printed or cancelled. These prints should show a defacing mark to note that original edition has been cancelled.
Reverse Painting
A method of painting on glass is an art form consisting of applying paint to a piece of glass and then viewing the image by turning the glass over and looking through the glass at the image.
Screenprint
A stencil process employing a frame on which silk or synthetic fabric is stretched. Stencils are hand-drawn or hand-cut and placed on the stretched fabric and act as a block out when the ink passes through the screen by means of a squeegee onto the paper, the non-stencil areas create the image. Also known as silkscreen or serigraph.
Sculpture
The art of carving, modeling, casting, welding, or otherwise producing figurative or abstract works of art in three dimensions.
Sepia
A reddish/brown color that is common for artists to use for drawings either with pastels or ink. Also common sepia toned photographs.
Sericel
A limited edition animation cel that is made with a silk-screening process on a cel layer. Sericels were not used in an animation production.
Signature Location (l.r., l.l., u.r., u.l.)
Abbreviations for the location of the signature on an artwork. L.R. is lower right, U.R. is upper right, etc...
Signed Edition
The number below the line designates the total size of the edition, the upper number refers to the specific print from the total edition, i.e. 2/100, the second print pulled from the edition of 100. The artist signs the print typically on the right bottom corner in pencil and numbers bottom left corner.
Softground Etching
An etching technique where a soft ground is laid on a metal plate. The artist draws onto a piece of paper which is laid down on top of the ground. The ground adheres to the paper where the pencil of other tool has pressed down into it through the paper and pulls away when the paper is lifted.
Spit Bite
A method in which the acid is applied directly to the plate and then quickly removed by any variety of liquids.
State
An impression taken from the plate at a particular moment or stage of development and distinguished from impressions taken at other times during that process. The final state is the state from which editions are generally pulled, although some artists pull several impressions in each state. A state proof is the alteration of an editioned image, plate, stone or stencil creating a new or related image. The new image may be printed in an edition with all impressions designated "state" I, II, III, IV, or more.
Stencil Print
A print made by applying color to an etching plate by the use of a metal or paper stencil before printing by rolling the color onto an inked plate.
Stone (Lithograph)
Bavarian limestone is used in the medium of lithography. This is the element that the artist draws on to create the print image.
Storyboard Drawing
A series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of planning an animated scene.
Sugar-Lift
The image is drawn on the plate with a brush or pen and sugar ink (a mixture of sugar and India ink). The plate is covered with hardground and impressed in hot water to dissolve the sugar, lifting the hardground with it. The plate is then etched in the normal manner. Also known as Lift-Ground.
Tapestry
Is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom.
Tempera
A permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Also known as Egg Tempera.
Terracotta
A type of earthenware, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic, where the fired body is porous.
Terragraph
Is a unique printing process using sand, developed by Har-El Printers & Publishers and the Terragraph Atelier. The first step is to seal the paper with a silicone varnish, to keep the sand and the oil binders in relief on the paper's surface. The sand is ground to different coarseness of grain, according to the necessary effect.. Where the sand area is needed, first a binder is applied or mixed with the sand, and printed through a screen.
Trial Proof (TP)
A proof that varies from the edition either in color, size, drawing, printing order, etc. these proofs are usually pulled before the artist has arrived at the final decision for the edition. These prints are usually unique impressions which may be retained by the artist and are not numbered in any manner. Typically abbreviated on a print as T.P.. May be written on a print as Color Trial Proof, these proofs may be done using the same plates as in the edition but the color varies from that used in the edition.
Triptych
An artwork that was created as three separate works that connect visually either horizontally or vertically when lined up. Only one of the works may be signed by the artist as the work is not to be sold as separate works.
Verso
The back of an artwork.
Watercolor
A paint made with a water-soluble binder such as gum arabic, and thinned with water rather than oil, giving a transparent color.
Watermark
The mark that paper makers form in their papers by sewing the design into the mold before the papermaking process. The watermark can be seen when held to the light as it is more translucent than the light.
Waxtype
A process like screenprinting where pigmented beeswax is used rather than traditional printer's ink.
Wood Engraving
A relief process in which the image is cut into the end grain of a block of wood using engraving tools. This process produces a very fine white line.
Woodblock
Is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Ukiyo-e is the best-known type of Japanese woodblock art print. An earlier term for a woodcut, usually on larger, rougher pieces of wood.
Woodcut
A relief process in which the image is cut in a block of wood with tools such as knives, goughers or chisels. The image is inked with a roller, paper is applied to the surface and the back is then rubbed by hand or with a rubbing tool, transferring the image to the paper.
Wove Paper
Is a writing paper with a uniform surface, not ribbed or watermarked. The papermaking mould's wires run parallel to each other to produce laid paper, but they are woven together into a fine wire mesh for wove paper.