It’s done…..now what?
It’s such a great feeling when a piece is finally finished—until you suddenly realize the work isn’t actually done. There’s a whole process that comes after the art-making, and it’s just as important for honoring your work and preparing it for the world.
The first thing I do is clean the edges. I know some artists love leaving the natural drips and marks that show the process, but I’ve found that most collectors prefer clean, finished edges. It honors the piece and gives it a polished look.
Next, I wire the artwork for hanging and sign it on the back—always in an upward motion, a little ritual I’ve adopted over the years.
Then I wrap the work properly and store it safely. Once that’s done, I title the piece and add the title and keywords into Lightroom so everything stays organized.
After that, it’s time to prepare the work for reproduction. I bring my art to a friend’s studio where we photograph it using large diffused light boxes. The files are then color-corrected to match the original. My goal is always to create high-quality digital versions that can be used for prints.
- I keep all related files together—the original photo, any versions created during editing, the tissue-paper version, and the final reproduced image. Then I create several output sizes, including:
- the original high-resolution file
- a 720px version for online viewing
- a 400px SEO-friendly version for my website
- any detail images
- social media files with my name, title, and copyright
When all the digital work is ready, I gather what I need to file a copyright claim at copyright.gov. It’s an important step in protecting the art you’ve just poured your heart into.
Once that’s complete, I share the work. I post it to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest—wherever I’m active—with a description that includes the title, size, medium, price, and copyright. I upload it to my website, making sure the title and credit line display properly. Then I list it on any online art platforms I use.
It might sound like a lot, but this process is part of completing the piece. It’s how we honor our work and prepare it to go out into the world, ready to be seen, shared, and—hopefully—loved.
I would love to know in the comments below what are some of the other things you do once you’ve completed your works.
Be well….be creative,
Thank you Clare. I used to just get pieces ready to hang. Now there is the whole online world – a blessing and a curse. Your checklist is really useful.
Yes Carol, with the advent of the online world you’re only partially done when you finish the work.
Clare, Very helpful info!
Glad it was helpful Joanne:)
Thanks Clare. Could you offer some details on the lighting setup for creating prints from your original work?
Thanx!
Hi Dave,
I don’t set up the lighting myself but will do a blog post of this soon as I have to take some work to get it photographed. I’ll give all the details then. Thanks for asking.
Thanks Clare, that is such a useful checklist.
I get a bit lost with the technological side of things (get bored by it more like!) but know it’s a necessity these days and must be done. Now I’ve just got to produce something to photograph and market. Speaking of photographing my work, I do find it incredibly hard to reproduce the true blues and turqoises in my pieces once I’ve got rid of the shine bouncing off the wax.
Really appreciate your generosity in sharing all this information.
Hi Cinny, it is indeed hard to photograph encaustic pieces. I’ll do a blog post on it soon.
Loving all this information. I am also easily bored with the technical side of things, looking forward to learning to embrace it. Can’t wait for the next blog!
Thanks Lesa Ann……looking forward to having you in class…..and photographing horses together:)
Great information invaluable thank you so much Clare. Now I get to understand the bigger picture. Of course I am not ready but eventually. I hope to use this informational resource.
This will be the challenging part for me. And also deciding what pieces are worth the work of getting them out there.
Great post Claire. k