Archival Arts Impressions

Do your friends and family think you are hard to buy gifts for?  Are you tired of getting art supply gifts you don't use?  If you have a growing portfolio of art and don't have a place to store your digital files, you might want to throw around some hints that you need an external hard drive... or at least a gift card to Best Buy or Amazon.com so you can get one yourself. If you are currently storing your digital files on your computers hard drive or on CD's, you really should consider an external hard drive to store files.  An external hard drive allows you to store your data in a compact, portable enclosure that connects to your computer through a USB cable, freeing up space on your computer needed for memory and other uses. There is usually no need to install software, you just buy it, plug it in, connect the USB cable, and most computers will see it as an additional hard drive to save files to. If you are frightened at this point, don't be!  Ab

We love to receive referrals from our artists. To us it is the ultimate praise to know that our clients want to share their positive  experience at Archival Arts with their colleagues. We are now offering you the opportunity to complement those referrals  with a gift card from us. And on the flip side, you can strongly suggest to your family and friends that a gift card from Archival Arts would be an ideal  present for you! You decide the amount you want to give. We offer them in any denomination - modest or grand!   Since this is something new we are trying we  are happy to report that recently a customer purchased a card to surprise her mother who had always wanted to have the family portrait professionally reproduced but never thought it possible. Thanks to her daughter's generosity she will be able to realize that ambition. On Thursday, a long-time customer got one for his highly admired art teacher. So we know we are on the right track by offering you this chance to give

Tis the season for professional sports in Maryland. Tonight the Orioles could beat the Yankees and possibly have a chance at the world series pennant. The Baltimore Ravens are 4 and 1 as of this date. It's an exciting time for sports fans and some of our artists, too. Several Archival Arts clients are honoring the teams by painting and drawing the players and themes. We'd like to share a sampling of their work with you. "Forkball" giclée print by Vernon Russell. "Ray Rice" giclée print by Darren Guest. "Torrey Smith" giclée print by Joe Krastel. "Masked Player" giclée print by Matthew Rice. "Orioles" giclée print by Chris Davenport

Every day the staff at Archival Arts remains tenacious in keeping pace with ever changing digital technology.  Many of the skills we utilize to ensure your scans and prints are the finest quality are of no direct concern to our customers. That is to say it is not necessary that you understand how we persist in providing you with the highest quality work. However, sometimes we simply must involve you and bring you with us. Until now, with each scan we have provided you with a CD containing your digital files. This has worked well in the past but we are finding that most of the CDs we provide are lost or given away. On your next visit we encourage you to update the way you store your important scans. CDs have a limited shelf life and over time can corrupt. Hard drives offer a more stable and adaptable storage alternative so we are asking our customers to consider using a thumb drive to transfer files from Archival Arts to your computer at home. So now you are thinking, "th

It's been a few weeks since a blog has been posted but it's only because we have been very busy bees making Archival Arts a better business.  As of today, (Labor Day) our website has been updated.  A nicer look, easier to navigate and a brand new gallery! If you are not currently in the gallery, don't feel bad!  If you have had scans done at Archival Arts, just subscribe to the gallery and you will soon be able to upload jpeg files of your images. The gallery is now a SEARCHABLE database that allows users to type in a keyword and see all the art in our database that pertains to that keyword.  It is currently using titles of the art to search the database but that is where YOU come in! This gallery now allows our artists to modify, delete and upload images once you register and are accepted into the gallery.  It is free to be in the gallery however we have only posted galleries for artists who have had 10 or more pieces scanned at Archival Arts.  Once you are r

"At the Beach" giclée print by Craig L Haupt Maryland artist Craig L. Haupt has an upcoming exhibition of recent work at  Antreasian Gallery located on "The Avenue" in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood. While the artist works primarily in pen and ink,  recently we have been scanning many of his paintings, too at Archival Arts. Haupt's work has a menacing  playfulness with clever titles such as "Bet Two Clams" where blue crabs are in a poker game playing for seafood. The show will include several of these humorous pieces which will be on display  and for sale only until July 29, 2012. The exhibition at Antreasian Gallery, 1111 W. 36th Street,  opens Friday, July 27 at 6 p.m. We hope to see you there! "Bet Two Clams" giclée print by Craig L Haupt. "But the Map Says" giclée print by Craig L Haupt. "Spare Button" giclée print by Craig L Haupt.

"On the Way to Cheryl's" oil painting by Carla Attenborough to be on display during the show.  Oella, Maryland artist and Archival Arts client Carla Attenborough will be exhibiting her paintings at the Perspectives Art Gallery in a show titled "Maryland My Maryland." Located on Main Street in Ellicott City, MD  the show opens Friday, July 6 at 5 p.m. With a background in graphic design, the former resident of Atlanta, Georgia  has a current body of work which  focuses on  two-dimensional pieces that specifically emphasize Maryland landscapes. Concentrating on paintings of farmland scenery located near Catonsville, MD, Carla's media of choice are acrylics, watercolors and oil pastels. You can see more of her artwork on the Catonsville Art Guild website.  Hope to see you all at the show! MARYLAND MY MARYLAND July 6 - September 30, 2012 PERSPECTIVES ART GALLERY 8191 Main Street Ellicott City, MD 21043 410-461-7763 "Win

It's almost June therefore it's almost time for the Schuler School's Annual Exhibition of Fine Arts . Please join the staff and students, some of whom are our clients, on the weekend of June 2 to see their stunning display of painting, drawing and sculpture.

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 24 is the opening for the annual spring art exhibition at the Schuler School in Baltimore, MD. Several of our artists are featured in the show, titled "Furs to Feathers II," which runs until April 1. If you can't make it tomorrow there are hours on Sunday from 2- 5:30 p.m. Hope to see you there!

"Mardi Gras Octopus" giclée print on canvas by Clara Nilles One of our best customers, artist Clara Nilles , has an art opening this Sunday, March 11 at 5 p.m. at Ranazul Restaurant in Maple Lawn, MD.  This is a great opportunity to see her fabulous, bold animal paintings and giclée prints in person.  You just have to smile at the vibrant depictions of her selection of wild creatures from the land and sea. We are hoping to join her, too, so perhaps we'll see you there. "Wasabi Walruses on Walnut" giclée print on canvas by Clara Nilles.  Ranazul 8171 Maple Lawn Boulevard Fulton, MD 20759 301-498-9666

PRESIDENTS' DAY SALE AT ARCHIVAL ARTS BEGINNING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20  THROUGH FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012 ORDER ONE PRINT -any media- RECEIVE THE  SECOND IDENTICAL PRINT AT 50% OFF ORDER BY THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 CALL 410-247-7771

From time to time we peruse the internet to see what curious information about digital files and media might be in circulation. When we can, we like supporting artists at risk so occasionally we respond to a plea for help. Just last week we attempted to assist a woman via her entry on an artists' forum. Let's call this woman Penelope. She wanted to know about making a print from a digital file of her painting. She took a picture with an entry level digital SLR camera of her original art (size 12" x 14"). She saw that the raw image size was 60" x 40" once she downloaded the file to her computer. Based on this observation she wanted to know if she could reproduce small artwork as much larger prints. We went to work setting her straight about pixels and print size. Our response went something like this: Dear Penelope, Digital cameras can be a little deceiving when dealing with print quality. Although the size says 60"x40," that is only giving yo

The majority of our artists/clients have a limited, working knowledge of  Adobe Photoshop . However, it is essential now that artists who are entering competitions join the digital age. 35mm slides have become 20th century artifacts. We have written several entries on this blog about creating files for juried shows. There are specific stipulations for preparing your images for services such as Zapplication or Juried Art Services .  Today we write to share with you that CaFE™  is now offering a service to resize your images for free on their site. We think this is all well and good. But artists should not become complacent about their digital images simply because they don't have to be concerned about negotiating the software. Making the entry process easier for uploading is a step in the right direction but this also increases the number of applicants. More than ever having excellent image quality will increase your chances of being invited to the show. So don't compromise

One of our newer customers Marina Borovok is busily preparing for her one woman show at Ranazul Restaurant in Maple Lawn, MD. Today she arrived to approve proofs for some of her paintings  and prints  featured in the show. The work covers subject matter such as country landscapes, moody beach scenes and colorful still life paintings. Here are a few images of her work that we have scanned. The show opens Sunday, February 12 at 4 p.m. Marina hopes everyone will join her then. "Red Barn" oil on canvas by Marina Borovok "Still Life" by Marina Borovok Storm is Coming" by Marina Brovok

Frank Morgan's house with outdoor gallery in Wrightsville, PA. Archival Arts client Frank Morgan has found freedom of expression in the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania. He utilizes an unusual method of presenting his artwork to the public 24-hours-a-day. The exterior of his house is his gallery. In the three years that Morgan has been residing in Wrightsville, PA (located between York and Lancaster) the artist has been painstakingly creating his outdoor gallery by adorning his home with giclée prints of his paintings. “You can see them at night from across the river,” says the artist of his ever growing display.  The large piece hung near the top of the house, called “Madonna and Child,” is illuminated by a brilliant light at night and offers dramatic scenery for the 10,000-15,000 cars that pass by each day. Morgan’s idea to create this informal, friendly space was born of the relaxed zoning guidelines in his neighborhood. “This outdoor space offers a place for all to enjoy