InCredits

Canvas prints have become the new phenomena over the last few years, primarily because of A0 printers, cheap canvas and stretcher bars and an unending need for people to decorate their living space in a very personalised way.

Nowadays it’s possible to amble into a canvas print shop with your camera, and one hour later amble out with a large canvas of your selected photo. There’s no end to the possibilities of what you can decorate your living space with : holiday photos, family photos, your own artwork represented as a canvas print, other artist’s works, street scenes, graffiti prints, nature scenes, famous landmarks etc. Basically, it’s possible to choose what you wish on the canvas itself these days, and not merely be forced to pick from a limited list of prints.

Are people actually doing this themselves now? Not really, in order to create a professional, respectable canvas print on your wall. You’re better going to a professional canvas print shop – who have stocked the best canvas, the best stretcher bars, will be skilled in stretching and clipping canvas, and be in possession of top-grade software and printers to make it happen. In addition, they have the experience to know how to tweak your own photos to produce the best resulting print on the canvas itself.

Many print shops sell their canvas service online. Simply type in some keywords into Google e.g. canvas prints and you’ll come across a great many sellers where you can purchase these types of canvas prints.

The public has had a love/hate relationship with graffiti. On the “good press” side, creatives like Banksy have made graffiti an artform that is pleasing on the eye, employing stencils to create technically tricky graphics loaded with a nuanced political point. This kind of graffiti was bound to become fashionable with the public and the art critics : attractive to both eye and intellect. This form of graffiti is now even purchased as graffiti canvas art, and hung on the walls of middleclass homes and office reception areas.

Nevertheless, what about the opposite end of the spectrum? – the scally, the tagger, the gangbanger type – this is just seen as vandalism, an offence committed by the talentless. But is graffiti merely an artform? To lots of individuals, it’s not only an artform, but a way to mark a district, or even a rejection of society altogether : anti-establishment, anti-social, even anti-art.

Graffiti has forever been a clandestine pursuit, even though the effects are very much public facing. The intended audience is often unbeknown. Is it for a rival crew? A communication to a single person? To the public at large? Possibly it’s just gratuitous and out of boredom.

Whatever the reasons, there appears to be a permanent need to spray graffiti. Some cities have conceded that graffiti isn’t a short-term craze, so they’ve marked off zones where graffiti is permitted – usually uninhabited areas, but now and again more civic zones like temporary boarding that surrounds inner city construction sites.

Art originating from Cuba is a distinct ethnical fusion of American, African and European aesthetic design mirroring the multi-ethnic population make-up of the island. Cuban artists took onboard European modernism and the 1920-1940 era witnessed an increase in Cuban vanguardism movements; these movements were characterized by a diversity of contemporary artistic styles. Some of the more celebrated 20th century Cuban artists tended to hail from the earlier part of the 20th century.

Possibly the most celebrated artwork to come out of Cuba was THAT photo of a certain Che Guevara (photograph by Mr Alberto Korda) which was to become arguably one of the most identifiable photographs of the 20th century.

The indigenous Cuban artist cause accumulated momentum after the opening of the the art academy (San Alejandro) back in 1818, which was constructed to fulfil the European taste of the Cuban bourgeoisie. Towards the end of the 1800s, landscapes were very popular within the art movement of Cuba and classicism dominated as the main art style.

Nevertheless, the pioneering Cuban modern artist of the 1920s had rejected the academic orthodoxies of the national art academy of Cuba. In their formative years, numerous Cuban artists had lived in Paris, where they studied and ingested the founding rules of cubism, surrealism and modernist primitivism. They returned to Cuba committed to ground-breaking artistic styles and were keen to combine this new artistic tendency with a Cuban influence. The pioneering Cuban artists accomplished worldwide recognition only as recently as 2003 when the MOMA presented the the Modern Cuban Painting show.

Collecting antique silver is rewarding and enjoyable. It can also be a very good investment. Every authentic item should have a sterling mark so keep your eye out for one. If there are no marks it may indicate that the piece was created before hallmarking was required.

You need do some studying and have a good understanding of the market before you venture into buying any pieces. This will prevent you from spending more than necessary or buying something that is not real antique silver.

Some collectors around the world are only interested in a particular era, maker or type of silver, such as tableware or jewelry. Specializing in one style or era can make you somewhat of an expert in that area, while collecting a wide variety of pieces will make your collection interesting and unique if carefully chosen.

When buying an item, make sure to check it over thoroughly. If an item has damage its value may be significantly reduced. Antique silver will often look used buy still retain its value; however you should tread carefully if there is any damage to the piece. Tarnish can often disguise defects so it’s important to watch for it and inspect each piece carefully before purchasing.

A table that has been set with silver cutlery, a fruit bowl and a beautiful candlestick can have a very stunning effect. It will look unique and add to the atmosphere. Silver can be purchased to add to your collection, sell at a profit or give as a gift.