This Black Friday, Buy Baroque Art

A Peasant Man, Head and Shoulders, Shouting

Art makes an awesome gift and this Black Friday, while everyone else is running around and dealing with traffic, crowd and holiday attitudes, get the jump on Cyber Monday shopping and consider adding a little Baroque-style art for someone special on your holiday list.

You may not know the term, but you'll know the Baroque art style if you see it. It's an extremely elaborate and ornate artistic style. It's theatrical, dynamic and pops with detail and life. It was super popular in Europe during the 17th Century.

Many Baroque pieces will look posed, but there are some that capture moments in time like a snapshot from the 17th century.
A great example of that is Agostino Carracci Fine Art Open Edition Giclée:"A Peasant Man, Head and Shoulders, Shouting"
This is an outstanding print that really lends itself to be a fantastic conversation piece.
Why is he shouting?
What is he shouting?
And who is he shouting too?
This is an open edition print and the inks used in the Giclee are high quality. These inks have a color permanence rating in excess of 100 years (when properly cared for, and displayed in acceptable lighting).

Go for some royalty and let your friends wonder who the aristocratic ancestor is? In this Cornelius Johnson Open Edition Giclée:"Portrait of Alathea, Countess of Arundel" you get a haunting portrait of a lady from long ago.

This is an open edition Giclee print that postively glows with a regal air. The red of her overdress in this piece and the detail on the lace collar are simply gorgeous. This museum quality print is done on acid-free paper in the highest quality archival inks.
These are just two pieces of the many Baroque-style prints that are available in our Baroque style gallery. If you want to add something absolutely exquisite to your decor or you need an elegant gift, you cannot go wrong with a classical style artwork. 

Limited Edition Art Prints Are Not Like Photocopies of Paintings

I  was discussing the blog post "Thomas Kinkade and Lionel Trains Celebrate Christmas 2012" with a friend that is so crazy for trains she and her husband actually have train tracks with model Lionel trains running around their house; and she said something that really took me back.

I mentioned that it was one of the last paintings that Kinkade completed before he passed away in April of this year and I felt the limited edition had some value besides the fact it was done by Kinkade.
She said, "I would never bother with a print, they are nothing but xeroxes of paintings, there's no value in that." 
Seriously?
At first I thought she was pulling my leg, and then I realized all the artwork in her home consisted of some gorgeous vintage posters and a lot of art done on canvas by her enormously talented mother and aunt.
I realized here are probably a number of people that feel the same way about prints and they shouldn't.

Fine art limited edition prints are an exact and true copy of the artist's original work. No one slaps a painting on a xerox machine and packs up the copies as they shoot out the bottom on cheap white paper. Instead it's a process. It's very normal procedure for the artist to work through the process with the production team from start to finish. Limited editions are often numbered and/or hand signed by the artist and they usually have value that increases over time because of the limited nature of the production. It gets down to this: since only a limited number was ever available - people got what they got and there's no more to be had. There are collectors that go after specific numbers in a given series.

The quality that goes into a limited edition print run is amazing. 
Along with only a select number being produced, then each print is inspected by the artist and signed, inspected again by The Publisher then numbered, certifying your art’s quality and individual identity.

Robert Finale's "A Winter Stroll"

A great example of a hand embellished Giclee print on canvas is Robert Finale's "A Winter Stroll".
Look at the how brilliant the colors and shades are in this print. His use of light elements just makes this piece pop with life. His attention to detail is amazing. 

Itzchak Tarkay's "Afternoon Tea"

Looking at this piece, you can imagine that someone in any of those windows is looking out and wondering what's going on - perhaps looking the window you're looking out of into the painting.

If you want to see a great example of a print on paper with colors that come to life, check out Itzchak Tarkay's hand signed and numbered limited edition on paper titled,"Afternoon Tea". Itzchak was placed in a Nazi concentration camp when he was only 9 years old and survived. He tends to paint bright colors and subjects that are fast snapshots in time. Like these ladies enjoying an afternoon tea together.
Spend a little time in our showcase and find an artist you relate to and start collecting their works, as you can see, a print can be a great investment.

See the selection now at http://www.gallerydirectart.com/dealer-gallery-of-fine-art-prints---posters.html

So Much Good Designer Framed Art, It's Hard to Choose!

Joey Duncan " Venetian"

Guess what happens when you combine world-renowned designers like Candace Olsen or Joey Duncan with classic artworks? You get the unique designs carried in the Paragon Picture Gallery.
One of the best things about Paragon pieces is that they are put together by professional designers who not only consider the artwork but also the decor the piece will be used in.
A great example is Joey Duncan's Venetian which is actually 3 framed pieces you have a lot of display choices with. Use them together to form a 9 panel design (as shown) or you can split them up and let them compliment each other on adjoining wall spaces.
Check out how numerous tints and shades coordinate and compliment each other in this piece and it could meld seamlessly into a light or darkly themed decor.

Malanta Knowles "Couture Coffee"

Another really great pairing to think about, especially if you found this page looking for a great gift for someone who loves to cook, but already has every cooking and kitchen  gadget known to man, consider the gift of art for the kitchen and there are numerous choices in the Paragon collection.

Malanta Knowles has been seriously hard at work designing some dining themed pieces that just pop. This piece is called "Coffee Couture" and like a lot of Paragon items, the artworks come in a set and can be used together to form a square or 2 on 2 to form rectangles around a larger artwork  or even by themselves to compliment around a room. The display options are definitely not limiting.

This is just one of numerous pieces available and there are also some excellent wine, food, and fruit themed pieces that come in a full range of subjects and color schemes.

You can see the collection, including brand new releases, in the Paragon Gallery now.