About My Art Prints

About my Art Prints:

My fascination with painting history resulted in the creation of hundreds of images.  Over time I found that I truly regretted parting with my original work, when it was sold at galleries. It seemed to me that all my research and brushwork was simply disappearing into private collections where it was not available for the rest of us to see.  Because of this,  I decided to make my work more widely available in the form of both limited edition and open edition prints.
 

Initially I printed and published limited edition lithographic prints on paper. As the new printing process called giclee' arrived I also produced giclee' prints on watercolour paper and more recently giclee’ prints on canvas.  It is the canvas giclee’ print that now represents most of my current work.

About my Limited Edition Prints. -  Printed by Hemlock Printers

Over the past decades I have used several printing-company providers but eventually selected Hemlock Printers in Burnaby to create my giclee prints.  Hemlock Printers is a fine establishment with exceptional capabilities that are precisely what a serious artist needs. Hemlock's extraordinary proofing capabilities result in canvas prints of the highest quality, with accurate fidelity in colour and detail.  To ensure that each image will be precisely duplicated whenever I need them for the marketplace, Hemlock Printers archives each of my proofs for future reference.

My limited edition print- runs are limited by me in that I specify and control the total number that will be created. Using the example of a run of 95 signed-numbered prints, this "limit" is documented in promotional literature as (SN95).  In addition I create a very limited number of Publisher Proofs (PP) which will not exceed 5% of the SN total.  I also create Artist Proofs (AP) which will not exceed 10% of the SN total.  In this  example case of a (SN95, AP10, PP5) limited edition run, a total of 110 prints will be created. 

Each limited edition print is accompanied with a numbered certificate of authenticity. The certificate also contains a summary of the history of the image as well as a few artistic comments.

With  some variations, I generally produce canvas giclee prints in the following standard sizes which are specified in promotional literature:

20" x 32"  this is my Regular sized print,

28" x 44"  this is my Large sized print (available in most print titles),

34" x 54"  this is my Super-Size print (available on a few print titles only).

Regardless of the the variety of sizes that I print within a particular limited edition run, the total of all the prints created within that run will not exceed the stated (SN plus AP plus PP) total; which in the case above would be a total of 110 prints of various sizes.

When I began publishing limited edition prints I decided that I would not sell "sn #1" of any edition; instead I have kept "sn #1" as part of my personal collection.

My limited edition prints are authorized, authenticated and supervised by me. When correctly displayed and cared for my prints will provide many years of enjoyment. I have many of these prints on display in my home and in galleries and they are resilient and show no loss of surface or image quality. However, just like original art, prints can suffer damage over time and certain precautions must be taken to avoid this.

To prevent damage and to support a long life, each print should be professionally mounted using archival materials and framing techniques and displayed in a location having normal humidity and minimum exposure to ultra violet light.  Because canvas expands and contracts relativeto heat variations, my canvas prints should be kept away from heat sources and large variations in ambiant temperature; for instance, placement over a fireplace is to be avoided.  My canvas  prints are sprayed with a protective clear gloss coating with UV inhibitor and should be treated carefully. In normal use no cleaning of the print surface is required.  The use of cleaning fluids can lead to degradation of the print surface and this can lead to cracking and or damage to the protective coating which can lead to failure of the underlying ink-printed image.  

A non-chemically treated feather duster or a lint-free cloth may be used, very lightly, to remove dust but avoid any rubbing of the surface as this can cause damage.  Certain materials and fluids such as water, coffee, coke, and many cleaning products will damage the protective finish and cause irreversible damage the print.  Do not use any type of mechanical or chemical cleaning product on the canvas.

The variability of detrimental conditions that my prints may be exposed to are beyond my control. Because of this, it is not possible to offer or imply any warranty with respect to any Brian Croft print.  For futher clarity, each print is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity which details the artistic story behind the art and also, at the bottom of the certificate, includes a statement on how to care for the print and states: "No warranty is offered or implied with respect to this print."

Brian Croft