I have both prints and originals in my shop. I’ve had a few customers who were a bit confused about the difference between the two, so I thought I’d try to explain.
What is a print?
Simply put, a print is a printed copy of the original piece of work. These are most often printed on paper but can sometimes be printed on canvas and stapled to a wooden frame. Prints can be made in a variety of ways, but the bottom line is that a print is not the original piece made by the artist.
What is an original?
An original is THE painting that the artist created. It is not a copy. Depending on the type of medium used by the artist, some originals may look different than others. Watercolor originals will be on paper because that is the surface on which watercolor works best. Original oil and acrylic paintings will most often be on canvas, however, they may sometimes be on heavy paper or boards.
Here is an example of a print and the original.
This is the print of my mixed media painting, Gather. It’s a basically a high definition scan of the painting that has been printed on special artist quality paper.
This is the original mixed media painting, Gather. It’s not a copy. It’s the original piece of art created by the artist.
I hope this information has been helpful to you! If you have questions about any of my work, please let me know!
