Patrick Smith studio visit

Yesterday we visited Patrick in his studio which completes the studio visits we have organised prior to our upcoming show in december. This studio was the only visit we have made as all four of us. Four of us plus Patrick in his studio made for quite a cosy visit but we managed fine.

For me at least it was a very educational experience. I didn't know much about printing procedures and Patrick was very patient at explaining both general printing principles and more importantly his own techniques.

We discussed at length the issue of giclee print runs which are either unlimited or runs which are very large. We were all in agreement that such practices were not something that we approved of and we wouldn't be doing anything like this with Revolving Gallery. We take great care in the art we select and as such one of our main aims is that art we sell should be a good investment - for this to be true the artwork should be original/ original print (not Giclee Print). Anyhow we agreed that for the upcoming exhibition we would stick to 'one off' original pieces of art. If that happens to be a print it should also be a 'one off'. This happily coincides with one of our core aims that any art we sell should also be a good investment.

Patrick explained that a way he often works is to start creating a series of prints. In each one he employs slightly different printing techniques, this could be a different pressure or a different amount of ink used. As different layers are built up, you will see the layers are an important aspect of Patricks work, the differences between the different prints becomes larger. He will eventually select one of these prints and the others are destroyed. I feel a little sad for the unused prints that end up in the bin but I guess they are sacrificed for the greater good of art.

Patrick is not only a print artist but also a painter. The works he has already submitted for our upcoming exhibition are all prints but he is hoping to also provide some paintings to show as well. I am looking forward to seeing these.

Finally I know there are probably many people who like me are not very knowledgeable about print. Patrick will be present at our first exhibition and I am sure will help to educate anyone who is interested.

Tarot