Care of your artwork
I supply my finished artwork on a stiff illustration board with a protective acetate transparent film and a blackout sheet of thick cartridge paper to cover the surface. So it arrives with you in perfect condition with some protection. The paint I use is Designers Gouache which is a water based paint. Any liquid spilt on the very delicate pristine surface of the actual artwork especially in airbrushed areas, will either cause water mark type staining or in some cases if enough liquid is involved, cause the paint to run off of the board! This creates unsightly streaks that are impossible to repair or cover up!
I recommend getting your artwork framed under glass or perspex as soon as you can after receiving it . This not only protects it from any spillages or inquisitive fingers touching the surface and causing scratches and scuffs but also helps protect it from direct sunlight. This helps avoid any fading of the paint pigment and =also dust accumulating on the surface of the paint.
Most framing companies have a multitude of different styled and finished frame types and various colours of mount boards for you to choose from. The framing companies are best placed to offer advice and help you decide which frame and mount you would like for your artwork.
Personally I like to keep a frame and mount quite simple which then doesn't overpower or distract the eye from the impact of the artwork.
A good local framing company in Salisbury is
Repair of your artwork
Artworks are never easy to repair and expensive as this work is both time consuming and difficult to carry out. Even after completion, the damaged area can still look different to it's initial pristine condition. I am willing to look at and asses what damage has been done to any of my own artwork's and decide if anything can be done to repair this or at least cover it up to a point where the eye is not drawn to the damaged area.
I always quote a price for a repair based on an examination of the damaged area, the cost of the materials needed and mainly on the time I estimate it will take to carry out the repair. I am always honest about any chances of carrying out an effective repair, if I feel there is nothing I can do I will say so and suggest the artwork is best left as it is.
As a positive example, the book cover artwork above was in this case, amended rather than repaired. Initially where the shuttle like spacecraft is now flying into the scene, there was a futuristic helicopter, (As can be seen on the original printed book cover ) At a much later date I was asked to amended the painting for a poster artwork to include a space craft exactly where the helicopter had been to give it a more dynamic science fiction feel. The original was commissioned for the book " A Scanner Darkly" by Philip K Dick ( Also the author of "Do androids dream of electric sheep " the book the epic sci - fi film Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford, was based on)
In this example the spaceship was painted onto a separate piece of very thin airbrush paper making sure it would cover the original helicopter. Then carefully cut to shape with a scalpel and stuck to the surface of the artwork with adhesive before being digitally re-scanned for use as a Sci Fi poster .
Artists Copyright and the law.
The copyright of any piece of artwork once complete immediately becomes the legal property of the Artist who created the painting.
So put in simple terms you will own the actual painted artwork that you have commissioned and paid for, but do not own the copyright. So by law you are not entitled to produce copies of the painting or produce products which use a copy of the artwork that you then sell.
See full details on copyright law on the separate page under the MORE tab.