art...

glossary of terms...

abstract art...

A modern style of art made popular by the likes of Picasso and Braque, in which the artistic values reside in the form of shapes, colours and arrangements. Abstract art may be based on a real or recognisable subject or may bear no resemblence to any subject matter and simply be an artist's personal expression of thought, emotion or experience.

artist's canvas...

A strong, smooth tightly woven cotton fabric specially designed to take the application of paint or ink.

digital art...

Art created on a computer in purely digital form. The original image may be a manipulated scanned image or photgraph or the artwork may be created from scratch. Digital artists use image and photo manipulation software to create effects and images that are often impossible to create using conventional artistic or photographic techniques.

diptych...

(dip'tik) - Artwork comprising of two separate canvas panels. Each canvas piece is a complete work in itself, but when displayed together they form a larger fully integrated piece of artwork.

gallery wrapped...

A method of mounting canvas art on a stretcher bar frame where the image is continued around onto the sides of the frame. A gallery wrapped canvas giclée gives you a finished piece of artwork ready to be hung without a frame on a wall.

giclée...

Pronounced 'jee clay', this French term literally means "sprayed ink". Ink-jet technology specifically for fine art reproduction. A sophisticated printmaking process, capable of producing millions of colours using continuous tone technology. Displaying the full colour spectrum, giclée canvas artworks have vibrant, brilliant colours and display a high level of detail.

giclée printer...

A specialist wide-format, ink-jet printer for reproducing high quality artwork prints. Unlike most inkjet printers that use three or four colour cartridges these printers utilise seven different colour ink cartridges allowing them to create a a wider range of crisp, vibrant colours.

giclée varnish...

Applied to a further enhance the canvas print's colours and provide it with museum level archival protection. A specially formulated clear varnish that gives 100% UV anti fade qualities, so it won't fade in sunlight, as well as providing extra resistance to scratching, scuffing and protection from moisture, dirt and dust.

pop art...

A contemporary style of art that originated from New York in the 1960's that is often associated with artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Pop art is a broad term that is used to describe art that focuses on presenting iconic images from popular culture, such as comic strips, popular foods, famous consumer brands and images from TV, magazines, cinema and other popular media.

stretched canvas...

A cloth of natural fibre (usually cotton based) stretched tightly over a specially designed wooden frame as a surface for painting. Stretched canvas is the traditional surface for oil paintings, and is also used for high quality reproduction and giclée prints.

stretcher bar...

Stretcher bars are specially machined solid wooden bars that are used to make up traditional stretcher frames on which canvas prints are mounted. Their unique design allows them to be expanded (stretched) by the use of small wooden wedges that can be tapped into slots machined into their mitred corner joints. They also have a specially machined, rounded profile that ensures that only the minium amount of the frame is actually touching the the underside of the front of the canvas. They are usually constructed from kiln-dried pine or spruce and are often laminated (made up from thin strips of timber glued together) to increase strength and prevent twisting and warping.

triptych...

(trip-tik) - Artwork comprising of three separate canvas panels. (See Diptych)

wall art...

A term used to describe a form of art that is designed to hang upon a wall. This term is often used when describing artwork such as framed pictures and canvas art.