www....World Wide Web

I've spent a lot of time surfing around internet sites gathering information on how best to get good image reproduction of my artwork, and then how to turn that digital image into good quality prints. I can't just take a picture of my artwork with my camera and then print that out on my inkjet. That would be a crappy quality print. I need to have high resolution images, taken in good light, preferably on a high res. scanner etc. etc. The prints are made with a printing process called giclée . (Fancy sounding word that means fine art print.) Basically more detailed ink colors, and archival quality to the ink (meaning fade resistant over years), on archival paper.

OK - boring, boring, I know. Long story short - I had to take my artwork to a photographer in Portland ME, - who created the digital images and put them on a disk for me, and then I had to send those images out to another company that could create the giclée prints for me. Not an inexpensive way to go!

In all my searching and surfing around online, I stumbled upon a photography website which just happens to be my neighbor - as in, the house right next door. I know the neighbors casually, we talk sometimes (when there's not two feet of snow on the ground and humans and animals are actually able to venture outside - you know...summer.)

(By the way - does everybody know the names of the four seasons in Maine?  They are...1.Almost winter, 2. Winter, 3. Still winter...and 4. Road Construction!
If you don't get the joke - you either don't live in Maine, or haven't traveled on Maine roads in summer!)

Back to my story...So my neighbor is a photographer! I reached out to her on email and told her about my art and needs for image reproduction. We both found it so funny that we live right next to each other, and had no idea about each other's online endeavors. We are going to get together soon. Perhaps I can use her expertise, instead of taking my artwork to Portland to get the digital images I need. (Also - Sara (my daughter) is getting married next year - and will be looking for a photographer!). I'm looking forward to getting together with my neighbor and seeing her studio and talking 'print reproduction!'

It's funny that while searching the 'world wide web' - I ended up on my own street about 200 yards away!

Learning

I've been working on some new art, while trying to figure out how to finally get good print reproductions of some of my pieces so that I can put some prints for sale on Etsy. I have found a few places that can reproduce my artwork, and then give me the digital image on disk. I've found (I think) the right place, or at least 'a' place to start.

So off I go to Portland, (ME) to drop off six of my canvas originals. They will scan and/or photograph the artwork and I will get my digitalized versions on a disc. Then I can upload them so that I can make prints. Sounds easy. Took me awhile to get to this point, and I can see that this is going to get expensive quickly. ($30 for photographed reproductions, and $3 each scanned item). Then I still need to get prints made on appropriate paper, and put them into mats. Long term -  I need to buy my own scanner and photoprinter to made good, economical prints for resale. That's step two.
For now - step one - get some prints made, at whatever cost, and get them up on Etsy for sale, along with some original canvases

All this and I don't even know if anybody will want my stuff. Does anybody like it? Is anybody out there? I'm sure you are, and I hope I can find a market for my creations - I just need to get a little further along this path of creating, blogging, linking and learning.

Got back from Portland just hours before the snow started ( I think they are calling it the Blizzard of 2013). This is what our back door looked like the next morning. That's the door handle there that the snow is up to, and our gas grill outside -


 - and it continued to snow all day! Winter in Maine - glad I've got plenty of stuff to do indoors!