Cathedral Mountain Lodge by Thomas Kinkade

Visit the Gallery to enter or enter online for a chance to win a 12″x 18″ Framed SN giclee of Thomas Kinkade’s newest painting, “Cathedral Mountain Lodge”. You can pick up an entry form in the Gallery or enter online at www.thomaskinkade.com/contest

For more information on this painting:  http://thomaskinkadebirmingham.com/pdfs/CathederalMountainLodgeIRC.pdf

So just what is a Serigraph?  In the art world they are considered “originals”, because they are hand crafted one at a time…See below and watch video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lQnQcsJfHs

What is a Thomas Kinkade Serigraph

 From an early age, Thomas Kinkade was fascinated with printmaking and  the many different print processes used over history. As a boy, he experimented with silk screening and as an established artist eventually began using silkscreened sketches as remarques on the backs of his paintings. For years

Thom planned to release serigraph editions of his work, now the Thomas Kinkade Company is pleased to be able to fulfill that dream and release the first Thomas Kinkade Serigraph Edition.

Serigraphs are a highly respected print making technique in the art world. Unlike photographic reproductions such as giclée, serigraphs actually involve recreating the original artwork by hand. The

serigrapher prints each individual color of the original, one color at a time, resulting in an exacting hand created reproduction. For each color in the original artwork, a film is cut, screens are exposed, presses are set and pigmented inks are mixed. Each color must be applied layer over layer with lengthy drying periods in-between. No more than two colors can be applied each day, so a 100-color print will take two and a half months from the first screen to the last.

As each color is printed, the registration or alignment of the print to the silkscreen must be in exactly the same place. This is considered the most important part of fine art serigraphy, because each color must be laid down in the exact place needed on the canvas on every print made. In the end, this ancient silk screening process produces a rich, unique, handcrafted serigraph that faithfully reproduces the original with pigmented inks that are unsurpassed in longevity.

Serigraphs will be released in limited quantities as available and in the edition sizes noted on theCertificate of Authenticity.

What is a Serigraph?

•             An elite stencil printmaking process, which is different than a photographic giclée process.

•             A masterful recreation of the original artwork by hand.

•             Highly durable and made with pigmented inks to resistant to fading.

Serigraphy requires diligence and handcraftsmanship for each print and is a very time consuming, multilayered process. The integrity and authenticity of the Serigraph is found in its processes as explained below:

- A stencil or screen is created for each individual color in the original. Typically, 80-90 separate colors will make up one painting; hence 80-90 different screens are used resulting in 80-90 different layers of ink placed in various places on the canvas.

- Once a screen is created, a sheet of high quality, archival canvas or paper is then inserted under the screen and a special pigmented ink is poured along the edge of the frame that holds the screen

- Areas, which do not print, are blocked in each of the stencil screens allowing ink to pass through the screen to specific areas of the painting, while prohibiting it from flowing through to other areas of the canvas.

- A flat fanlike tool is pulled from back-to-front along the screen pushing the ink through, resulting in a direct transfer of the image from screen to the canvas or paper.

- Only one color can be applied at a time.

- The canvas or paper must be fully dry before another color can be added.

- Due to drying times, only 2 colors can be applied in one day.

- This process is repeated layer on top of layer until the entire original print is recreated.

- Complex works of art, with hundreds of colors, can take over 6 weeks or longer to produce.

Our recent painting trip to Boston included a visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to see some old friends painted by Sargent, Whistler, Zorn and others. (Members of The Artist’s Road can see the complete article here: Plein Air Painting in the Boston Public Garden). The museum buildings consist of Mrs. Gardner’s fabulous mansion and a newer, modern glass addition blended together. It is worth the trip to the museum just to see and walk around in her wonderful house, which features a three-story garden atrium at the center. Designed by William T. Sears and completed in 1903, Fenway Court, as it was called during Mrs. Gardner’s day, is in the style of a 15th-century Venetian palazzo, and was built specifically to house Mrs. Gardner’s remarkable collection of art, furniture, and artifacts from all over the world. Except that, there are empty frames on some of the walls.  

Read More:  http://www.artistdaily.com/blogs/oilblog/archive/2013/09/17/the-biggest-art-theft-in-american-history.aspx?a={Field:StoreCode}&et_mid=637232&rid=236504241