Archival Arts Impressions

Joe Krastel picking up his framed art here last week. When East Baltimore’s Joe Krastel  is not painting some of his favorite Maryland subjects he’s working very hard at his thriving design company called Just Extreme Graphix.  Located in East Baltimore for over 16 years, Joe’s business has grown into a very busy shop where they design and print T-shirts and apparel which are shipped throughout the United States. Over the past six years Just Extreme Graphics has demanded the bulk of Joe’s time and talent. He freely admits that his goal now is to rejoin the art fair circuit part-time where he will sell his paintings and reproductions directly to patrons. This objective is what brings Joe to our shop repeatedly for printing and framing giclées  of his work. We wish him much success as he begins to spend more time on his passion for painting. We’ve included a few images of his below. And if you’d like to reach Joe for business at his shop you may phone him at 410-284-5522. &q

Annapolis artist Cheri Coulter has been with Archival Arts since our early days at the old South Balitmore location. It is interesting to see and chat with her when she is dropping off  exciting new work or picking up a series of giclée prints at our newest location on Benson Avenue in Halethorpe, MD.  A true artist, Cheri has spent her entire life devoted to painting as well as other creative disciplines such as sculpture and photography.  You can catch Cheri at the Whitehall Gallery in Annapolis where she is the part-time manager. Stop by and say hi to her next time you are down that way.  In keeping with the season we've included some of Cheri's colorful work below. "A Toast to Summer" giclée print by Cheri Coulter "Bonnie's Water Lily" giclée print by Cheri Coulter

 If you are reading this blog you're probably already selling prints of your art or are considering selling prints.  Either way, hopefully you have done  a little research on making prints or have found someone to make prints for you.  In my 10 years of printing experience, I have discovered one factor that is overlooked time and time again by both amateur and "professional" art printers.  This factor can greatly reduce the quality of your digital file, and ultimately affect your sales.  I'm talking about image   clarity . 1950's Brownie camera with plastic lens. I know I know, that's a no-brainer right?  If you make prints, of course you want them to be clear.  The problem is, due to our over-exposure to mediocre photo prints, we have been trained to accept blurry images as OK.  In my opinion it all started when Kodak came out with the Brownie camera .  Before the Brownie, photography was mostly limited to professionals who used 8x10 and 4x5 view cameras

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Beth and Hans at Archival Arts today picking up their work for the Schuler School Exhibition this weekend. Hans Guerin and Beth de Lioselle, artists and instructors at the  Schuler School of Fine Arts  in Baltimore, stopped by this afternoon to pick up their paintings and scans. The talented couple cut it close to the deadline for the internationally known school's painting and sculpture exhibition which opens tomorrow, Saturday, June 4. This event which runs through Monday, June 6 promises to continue its time-honored tradition of exhibiting the work of those who study and teach the traditional techniques of the masters. In addition to the work of Beth and Hans and many more artists, the show includes our clients Hans Briggs and Carol Thompson. Stop by and see their amazing work in person.  "Chickadee with Hydrangeas"-  oil on panel - by Beth de Lioselle "Mother Earth" - oil on canvas- by Hans Guerin "White Cat" - watercolor on paper - by Fritz