how do tell the difference between a print or painting or a water color?

Question

i have an old picture im not sure what it is but its big and real nice old frame dont trust appraisers around here

Answer 1

Let's look at some simple tests: If you can remove the art piece from the frame this will help. If it is under glass then you will need to unframe it. What is the work done on? Canvas [ it will have a wooden stretcher/frame supporting the canvas]. If it has a brown paper covering over the rear of the frame then carefully cut into a corner and peel it back a little to see what is underneath. Paper? A watercolour will usually be on rough textured paper, like blotting paper only hard to the touch. It will usually have a mount, that is a coloured mattboard frame surrounding the picture. The mount and the art work will be taped together at the top. Look at the edges of the art work.If it is a true watercolour the edges of the image will be irregular , perhaps with some pencil lines or even patches of colour. The mount will cover these and clean up the edge. That is a good sign of an original work. If the edge of the image is very sharp and clean then it could be a reproduction. That is a printed copy of a painting, worthless in most cases.
Technically a print is a work by an artist produced as an edition [ie:more than one exists] If this is a print then all that information will be written on the print above the bottom edge of the mount: artists name, usually rhcorner, in the lhcorner will be the edition no.s 12/50? You also see the imprint mark of the plate the work was printed from, amark around the edge of the image ,pressed into the paper. Back to the painting on canvas! It can still be a reproduction even with textured surface and "brushmarks". These were known as oleographs, the marks were printed on and then the art work printed over these to give the look of a real painting.These are usually on heavy cardboard. If you try these
tests and still do not get the result you are looking for try researching the artist's name. Perhaps take the work to your public gallery, they often have curatorial staff who will give you an idea of the type of art work you have without charge. it may be genuine art work, it may not but if you like it, what does it matter! Enjoy.

Answer 2

Well if it's been painted it should have some texture on the surface.The color should be rich looking if it's a watercolor with bits of white specks where the paint didn't fill the crevices of the textured painting. Prints look kinda fake.They usually have a number or some type of info on the lower right corner of the page indicating what number and how many copies were printed of the particular image. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

it should be really easy. what you need to do first is compare it to a work that you know is a water color. now, if it looks like a water color, but they didn't use water color paper, then you have a print. ok, so if it isn't a water color, then look to see if there is texture from the paint. oil & acrylic are going to leave an texture of some sort unless the person is perfect. dont judge a picture by its frame... you can always put a piece of crap in a nice, old frame!

good luck!

Answer 4

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RE:
how do tell the difference between a print or painting or a water color?
i have an old picture im not sure what it is but its big and real nice old frame dont trust appraisers around here

Answer 5

A print is made up of millions of little dots (like a tv picture) if you have a look at the picture through a magnifying glass you will be able to tell the difference. Looking for numbers on prints like 24/34 will not work as not all prints are limited editions.