How to Remarque your Canvas in Print

Elevating your canvas prints with hand-painted details

Remarque prints allow artists to enhance the beauty of their canvas prints by adding personal, hand-painted details. These added elements create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of art that surpass the standard reproduction process. In this tutorial, we will explore the step-by-step process of how to remarque your canvas in print, adding contrast, vibrancy, and personal touches to make them stand out as individual works of art.

Understanding the Remarque Process

Remarque is a technique where artists add hand-painted elements on top of a printed canvas, enhancing the piece by restoring contrast and vibrancy that may have been lost during the reproduction process. It allows artists to give each print a unique flair, turning it into its own distinct artwork.

In this example, we will focus on adding highlights, shadows, and color nuances to a limited-edition canvas print, giving it a more detailed, personalized finish.

Step-by-Step Guide to Remarquing Your Canvas

1. Gather Your Supplies: Before you begin, make sure you have the following materials:
   • A high-quality canvas print. A range of acrylic paints (raw umber dark, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, titanium white, indian yellow, etc.). Satin or matte acrylic medium for blending and sheen matching. A palette and brushes suitable for fine details.
   Having these items at hand ensures that you can effectively add the desired details without disrupting the print’s original look.
2. Analyze the Print: Take a close look at your canvas print. In this tutorial, the artist used a smaller version of the print as a reference to guide the restoration of contrast and brightness. Identifying areas that need enhancement is critical to avoid overpainting or disrupting the overall design. Focus on restoring parts that lost vibrancy, such as facial features, highlights, and shadows.
3. Prepare Your Palette: Mix your paints carefully to match the existing colors on the print. In the video, a mixture of white and yellow (specifically indian yellow) was used to add brightness. Keep the colors thin by adding medium, ensuring that the layers will blend seamlessly into the original print.
4. Begin Adding Details: Start with small, subtle enhancements. In the video, the artist began by restoring highlights on the subject’s face, focusing on areas such as the eye, nose, and hand. These subtle additions help create depth and vibrancy without overpowering the original print.
   • Tip: Use a thinned-down mixture of paint and medium to avoid stark contrasts. Feather the paint onto the canvas lightly to blend it into the surrounding areas.
5. Restore Contrast: One of the key aspects of remarques is restoring contrast that may have been lost during the printing process. Focus on areas where shadows and highlights should be more pronounced. For instance, in the video, the artist added highlights to the subject’s face, hand, and clothing to bring back the depth of light and shadow.
6. Enhancing Small Elements: Pay attention to minor details like reflections and highlights. In the tutorial, the artist added small touches to the subject’s eye and flame in a lamp to make them pop. These tiny details, though subtle, make a significant difference in the overall appearance of the canvas.
7. Match the Sheen of the Canvas: To ensure your painted details blend with the printed surface, use a satin medium. Because this will match the sheen of the print, ensuring that your brushstrokes don’t stand out as overly glossy or dull. Then I used a mix of gloss and satin mediums to achieve the right finish.
8. Final Touches: Once the major areas have been enhanced, step back and observe the canvas from a distance. Look for any areas that may need additional touch-ups, such as the flame, clothing, or background elements. So, I brightened the flame in the lamp and added luminosity to parts of the subject’s clothing to give the canvas a more vibrant look.
   • Tip: Then, use very light, feathery strokes for small adjustments. In the video, I used short strokes in different directions to achieve a smooth blend.

Why Remarque Your Canvas?

Remarque prints offer several benefits for both artists and collectors:

• Enhanced Value: By adding personal, hand-painted details, you increase the value of each print. Because, these custom additions make each piece unique, appealing to art collectors looking for something special.
• Increased Vibrancy and Contrast: Printing can sometimes reduce the contrast and brightness of the original painting. Remarquing allows you to restore those elements, making the piece more vibrant and engaging.
• Personal Artistic Touch: Remarquing lets artists revisit their work and add new artistic flair. This process makes each print feel more like an original, personalized artwork.

Tips for Successful Remarquing

• Start Small: Begin with subtle changes before moving on to more dramatic adjustments. This approach helps ensure that you don’t overdo it.
• Use the Right Medium: So, always match the sheen of the printed canvas with the right medium. In most cases, a satin or matte medium works best to avoid an overly glossy or mismatched finish.
• Feather Your Strokes: To blend hand-painted details with the existing print, use light, feathery strokes. Thinned-out paint will also help you achieve a more natural look.
• Monitor Progress: Regularly step back from your work to assess your progress from a distance. This helps you see the overall impact of your additions.

Remarquing a canvas print then allows you to add your personal touch to each piece, transforming a reproduction into a unique work of art. Then, by carefully adding highlights, shadows, and fine details, you can elevate your canvas prints and offer something special to collectors. Whether you’re an artist looking to personalize your prints or an art collector seeking a more vibrant piece, remarques provide an excellent way to enhance canvas prints.

By following the steps in this guide, you can confidently begin adding your own artistic flair to your canvas prints, turning each one into a truly unique masterpiece.

LEARN MORE

• How to Paint Foliage Using the Acrylic Glazing Technique
• How to Trace for an Accurate Portrait Sketch
• How to Paint Realistic Eyes in Your Acrylic Portrait
• How to Add Raw Umber Dark & Ultramarine Blue to Your Portrait
• How to Make Your Own Raw Umber Dark
• How to Paint Realistic Trees & Grass in Your Acrylic
• How to Block In Skin Tone Values Using Glazing Technique
• How to Paint Vibrant Reds in Your Acrylic Portrait
• How to Glaze Background Colors & More Acrylic Portrait
• How to Paint White Clothing in Your Acrylic Portrait
• How to Easily Transition from a Sketch to a Painting
• How to Block In Shading & Skin Tones in Your Acrylic
• How to Build Up Color on Acrylic Pet Portrait
• How to Build Up Form on Clothing with Acrylic
• How to Paint Dark Clothing Using Acrylic Glazing Technique
• How to Paint a 24 x 30 Acrylic With 30 People
• How to Do Smooth Shading with Acrylic
• How to Sketch an Acrylic Portrait with a Grid
  

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

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Yours for Better Portraits,

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