Ancient Art Replicas for Beginers

An affordable way to get unique works of art for your home or business is to buy ancient art replicas. These are beautifully created replicas of artwork or statues from ancient history. Art replicas can resemble modern art or art from hundreds or thousands of years ago. Ancient art replicas often date back to Egyptian art, Greek art, and ancient Christian art, or periods in history that have been long forgotten.

What is an Art Replica?

An art replica is not an original work, but a very accurate reproduction of the original. Art replicas are usually produced from scratch or touched up by skilled artists. Some art painting replicas are painted entirely from scratch while others might be copied digitally or by print and then highlighted by an artist's brush.

Ancient art replicas portray the feeling and real-life sentiment of the original piece of work. Whether it's an ancient painting by a Greek artist or statues of FooDogs, the replica artists or craftsmen make a great effort to recreate the original work. High quality replica paintings are usually hand-painted on canvas and are not merely "copies" of the painting. This gives the paintings a more authentic look and feel.

Ancient Art Replica Statues
Statues from the past can be replicated by creating a cast to match the shape and size of an original statue. A master mold is then turned into a replica statue using the utmost detail to capture the same quality as the original. You can buy amazing Buddhist art or Greek art statues in life-like forms to place in a home, business, or religious establishment. Ancient art replicas are lovely and admirable just like the original statues, but at only a fraction of the cost.

Benefits of Buying Ancient Art Replicas

There are several benefits of buying ancient art replicas. You'll receive a high-quality painting or statue that is not merely a "copy." Replicas are often created with the same amount of care as an original work and will closely resemble the original. Ancient art replicas make wonderful decor pieces and often stir conversation wherever they're found. The statue replicas can be placed inside or outdoors. Also, art replicas are available at affordable prices. If buying an original artwork or statue, you might pay thousands of dollars whereas replica pricing often ranges from $50 to $300.

Ancient art replicas are available for many types of art as well so you can choose from thousands of products. There are also websites that specialize in ancient replicas so you can buy Greek art, Christian art, Buddhist art, FooDogs, and more from your own computer. Statues come in many shapes and sizes as well as themes so you can easily find one or two to add to your current décor. Whether you prefer Christian artwork such as a Celtic cross or Byzantine cross, or Buddhist art such as a statue of Buddha Amitayus or a Buddha in teaching pose, there are plenty to choose from.

Use art replicas to bring ancient history to life in your home or business today!

Donating Art is less complicated than you think-(USA)

Compare donating art to adopting art: both require planning.

• Locate a qualifying institution to accept the item.
• Pass the related use test.
• Arrange for an appraisal not more than 60 days ahead of the date of gift.
• Obtain a letter of acceptance dated prior to December 31 of the year you plan to take the deduction.
• Deliver the property to the institution.

Want to make sure what you are about to read is correct? Get the IRS publications 1) 526 Charitable Contributions and 2) 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property. You can get these publications on the Internet at www.irs.ustreas.gov or you can call 800-TAX-FORMS (800 829-3676) to order them.

Publication 526 specifies that “a charitable contribution is a donation or gift to, or for the use of, a qualified organization.” A qualified organization is a “nonprofit group that is religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary in purpose or that work to prevent cruelty to children or animals.” The amount is generally limited to 50% of your adjusted gross income, but in some cases 20% and 30% limits may apply. The detailing of which of these limits applies is on page 9 and 10 of Publication 526. You can carryover unused deductions for a maximum of 5 years.

Form 8283

You must complete Form 8283 and have it accompany your donation. This form identifies who receives the gift, its condition, how, and when you acquired the gift, and its fair market value as of the date of gift. If you received the item as a gift from an artist, you can only deduct the artist’s basis, which is the cost of materials needed to create the art work.

Related-Use Test

Related use is a concept that was instituted roughly 10 years ago to prevent citizens from donating items to organizations that were inconsistent with their collection direction. For example, if you gift a Civil War sword to a clock museum, a 19th century doll to a contemporary art museum, an Art Deco sculpture to a science museum, this pairing will not pass the related-use test. Flunking the related-use test mandates a deduction that is limited to your cost or basis.

The first question in Tax Court is: “On what day did the appraiser view the property?” Your appraiser must personally inspect the property. If you jump ahead and send the piece across the country to a qualified organization that fits the related use test, you will also need to ship your appraiser to inspect it or find one who can visit the piece in person. The following people cannot perform the appraisal: anyone associated with the qualified organization receiving the gift, the dealer who sold it to you, anyone who a reasonable person could imagine would have a bias in producing a value. The appraiser must be someone who holds themselves out to be a professional appraiser.

The report can be prepared after the date of gift, but not more than 60 days before the date of donation. Another time sensitive element is the date of the qualifying organization’s acceptance letter. A representative of the qualifying organization using that organization’s stationery must write the donor an acceptance letter dated no later than December 31 of the year you plan to take the deduction. If giving a fractional interest, a new appraisal must be prepared for each year a percentage of the item is given.

Timing is a key issue with respect to accession meetings. These generally take place once a month and often a quorum of Trustees or committee members must be present. Contact the organization on December 20 and you may be told they held their last meeting for the year on December 11.

Word of caution, a gift means “it is not yours anymore”. Most organizations will not allow you to specify how and when it is to be exhibited. Deliver the item to the organization and mentally separate from it. Do consider closely if you want to be cited as the donor or if you would prefer to have the citation read “anonymous donor”.

Tax forms frighten everyone, but thankfully, the 8283 Form is quite simple to complete. Specify your name and social security number and then fill in different parts, depending on the fair market value of the property given. Section A Part I is to be filled in if the deduction is $5,000 or less. There you give the name and address of the organization receiving the gift as well as a description of the property. Then specify the date of the contribution, the date acquired, how it was acquired and the your cost or basis, its fair market value and the method used to determine fair market value. Section B Part I is for property that is worth more than $5,000, where you are asked the same information. If the fair market value is greater than $5,000, the qualifying organization has to complete Part IV of Section B. Part III is completed by the appraiser.

If you are donating property with a fair market value of $500 or more, you must complete Form 8283. You may be asked for an appraisal if the value is greater than $5,000. You must attach an appraisal to your IRS filing, if the value is $20,000 or greater. It is generally understood that donated property valued at $20,000 or greater will be reviewed by the Art Advisory Panel.

The Art Of Cleaning Art

Art is a part of life and for some, it is their way of life. Others usually consider art as a worthy investment. Regardless of how you see art, restoring and preserving art pieces are important techniques to maintain their value. Painting restoration is a serious matter; that is why most people prefer to have their paintings professionally restored. However, if you like the thought of restoring your own pieces, lots of practice and familiarity with techniques are necessary. Because according to statistics, more paintings and art works are destroyed each year by inept restoration and cleaning than by accidental burning or fire.

Clouded varnish, dirt, and smoke are the usual culprits that cause paintings to become dirty. Restoring paintings by cleaning it is the logical step of most owners. However, wiping paintings with rags or whatever liquid is damaging. Art restoration professionals recommend researching restoration techniques on the internet or attending seminars on restoring paintings before embarking on a restoration mission.

Art works look more elegant and classic when preserved in their original frames. As it is, detaching paintings from their frames is necessary and important before the actual cleaning. Non-removal of the frames not only causes discomfort and unease in cleaning, it also causes scratches and abrasion. Remove the frames by laying the picture backside up on a flat surface layered with foam or cushion to avoid scratching the frames. Vacuum accumulated dust on the frames' back and remove nails gently with a metal ruler and pliers. Secure the nails on board with labels of their previous positions. For example, secure and label the nails plucked from the lower right side of the frame as "lower right". This way, each nail fits exactly on its previous place without causing added strain on the frame. Marking the frame is also a good idea to be able to return it to its original position.

After removing paintings from their frame, it is better to inspect the kind of dirt build-up on the paintings. Knowing the kind of dirt to be removed is necessary in finding and using the right product and tools. Anti-mildew solutions remove mildew build-up or "foxing" effectively. However, soaking the painting in these solutions damages the colors and the painting. To prevent this, soak or spray the solution on a cotton pad and wipe on the area affected with foxing. Follow up with a water-dipped cotton pad and wipe dry. Periodically check cotton pads to see if some color or paint was dissolved. For dirt build-up that requires light to medium cleaning, slicing an onion in half and dipping it in lemon juice remove grime and dirt off art work. Rub paintings with lemon-soaked onion using a circular motion for even application. Slice the onion regularly to expose a fresh layer. An alternative is using warm water with lemon detergent or washing soda. Finish either treatment by wiping their painting with a moist sponge and leaving it to dry. Art works respond to this treatment with improved depth of color.

Experts recommend leaving varnish removal and painting repair to the professionals. Art works do not sell well or look good if extensively damaged. As these types of restoration require complicated techniques, the chances of botching the job are high if done by amateurs. The job is expensive but make the value of your paintings appreciate.

The Online Art Gallery: Gaining Momentum

The Internet has expanded our world in many ways. Today, through the use of an online art gallery, we can buy, or just enjoy, works of art. If we are good enough, we can even sell our art work.

No one wants to be a starving artist, but can be hard for an up-and-coming artist to get enough people interested in his or her projects to want to purchase some of it. That’s only one of many reasons an online art gallery might be a godsend for those artists looking for their big break.

An online art gallery is a website that features art of various kinds. Whether the art itself is painting, sculpture, or any other form, the piece is first digitally photographed and then displayed on the website as a webpage image. Often, an online art gallery will display the works of several artists at once, or may offer several pieces from the same artist.

In return for this service, an online art gallery may make its money by receiving commissions from the sales of the work of the various artists. Usually, an agreement is tendered wherein any piece that is sold through the online art gallery is subject to a fee. The gallery withholds the fee once the art is sold and paid for.

This kind of arrangement works well for both parties. The artists can showcase their work to a broad audience, without the marketing expense having to come from their own pocket; the online art gallery benefits in that they collect a payment for the pieces that are sold and have a constant supply of art to draw in potential customers.

However, not all online art galleries use this type of arrangement. Some prefer to charge the artist a fee, which must be paid in advance. Generally, this fee is used to offset the bandwidth cost incurred by the site owners, as well as the cost for the website design itself. The good side of this is the artist will usually not have to pay a commission to the online art gallery once the sale is made.

An important added benefit to using an online art gallery is that the artist receives exposure as well. The online art gallery makes a profit only when people come to the website and buy from it. Because it is in their own best interest to do so, they will work hard at promoting their virtual space, which, in turn, promotes those artists showcased there. For the artists, this means more exposure, which can translate into more sales.

If you are interested in displaying your art work in such a manner, you should do some research as not every online art gallery is willing to feature the work of up-and-coming artists. Some of the more prestigious galleries prefer to focus on the works of more established artists.

Whether you are an artist, or simply an art connoisseur, you should browse the contents of an online art gallery. The level of quality and the sheer diversity of what you may find can surprise you.

The Future Of Art - Investment Ideas

In order to look into the future we need only to look into the recent past.

It is not only helpful to look at different trends as well, but I believe we will find that certain fashions have had varying degrees of mutual influence upon artistic endeavors.

Current art trends are mirroring the apparent confusion found in the fashion industry. 60's hippie gear (itself a mixture of classical medieval and pop) can be seen with 80's punk; experiments with pop and new wave continue; and cartoon wear taken directly off the pages of anime imagery is finding an affinity with hip-hop and black gangster rap. Alongside this I see a fantastic mixture of some or all of cartoon, naive, pop art, abstract expressionism, and surrealism, which I believe has been coldly labelled neo-expressionism.

This observation amazes me ... it is so similar to the abundant fashion and art at the end of the nineteenth century. What is more incredible is that out of that chaotic time came the first momentous in-roads into the drama of avant garde art, and the yet to be dominant power of the modern art movement.

And I think history is about to repeat itself.

Just look at the commercial world where "instant" recreation is fast becoming the most successful entity in that it pervades almost everything ... everywhere. Television has introduced a specific modern basic attitude towards art and living, but now it is fast being replaced (or I should say - consumed) by the very latest technological breakthrough ... the computer - hooked into the world wide web. Here is the new world ... and a fundamentally unexplored world too. Here art can be produced one end of the world ... and be seen at the other end in a matter of seconds. Everyone is invited to add their own personal art ... no matter where they have come from, or what lack of teaching they might have had. There is a kind of "free-for-all" attitude beginning to grow, and with it a beautiful artistic innocence is very slowly flowering from every culture, every community, every body.

We are blessed in being right in the middle of another chaotic period which is a kind of vast cauldron - every kind of entertainment or activity is being poured into it. And very soon the mixture will be just perfect for the next avant garde generation of artists to join together - not in a Paris cafe but in a cyber cafe, and it will be from there that true, strong, innovative art will begin to seep into the worlds consciousness. But what sort of art will it be?

For that answer I believe we have to look at what is happening now - on the internet. We need to look very carefully at those extremely fragile shoots ... such as the gaming environment, the online caricatures and their naive graffiti styles, plus those intimate personal blogs absolutely brimming with virgin creativity, and not forgetting the ever handy mobile phone with instant photographic and movie ability. It will be in these places that the next art movement will gently evolve.

So, if you are looking for investing in art for the future, I believe you should start your investigation now into the many visual interpretations found on the net, and you will find ... eventually, that the internet will heavily influence the new covenants of tomorrows fine art. Its power and strength will establish a completely innovative art that will portray a tantalizing contradiction - a movement, anonymous and yet extremely personal.

Selling Art Online?

If you are interested at all in art and photography, you will no doubt have noticed the huge number of impressive looking online galleries all over the internet. Judging by the numbers of signed up artists and photographers they seem extremely popular. But do these online galleries actually sell the work they display?

Well yes, quite often. It is a fact that many artists do very well selling art and photography on the internet. However, as with any offline gallery, showing work simply provides the opportunity to be seen by a larger audience thereby increasing chances of making sales. That said, the internet is a gateway to a worldwide audience and by joining an online gallery an artist has the potential of tapping into it. A word of caution though; some galleries are far easier to find than others. This is very important because no matter how attractive the layout of an online gallery appears, if customers can't find it then the artwork is not going to be seen.

So where are the best places to sell art online? Well, there are now many options open to both professional and aspiring artists and photographers. It all depends on individual objectives. For high visibility, joining one of the larger online galleries who get many thousands of visitors daily might be a wise consideration. A visitor count is usually provided somewhere on the homepage of these sites. There are some excellent ones to choose from but each is slightly different in terms of selection and joining procedures, how they assist in promoting work and how work is displayed on the website. Also, attention should be paid to areas such as who takes payment for work sold and how money is received after a sale. Commission taken from a sale is another important factor and can vary from 0% to 40+%.

Can one really make any money from selling art online then? The short answer to that is 'probably'. A good indication is whether the art sells in the 'real' world or not. If it does, then it is likely to be also successful online. If an artist hasn’t yet ventured into selling, then there is nothing to lose by dipping a toe in the water by joining an online gallery. One place to test the waters is eBay but another word of caution here. If work is already selling at top end prices, it is very unlikely that these can be commanded on eBay. It is very important to avoid dropping prices for the purposes of selling on eBay too, or anywhere else online for that matter. Current customers won't like it. It devalues their purchases and also makes them feel they have been ripped off by paying higher prices. That said, some artists are making a good living on eBay with its phenomenal number, and still growing, of daily visitors.

What about fine art and photography prints, do they sell well online? Well, yes actually! Very well. In fact it would be fair to say that although the art print market is very competitive online, with huge websites offering everything from impressionist style canvases to Disney posters, there is still room for original art and fine art photography prints. The fact is that whilst people may be hesitant to spend a huge amount of money on an original artwork without seeing it 'in the flesh', prints are a safer gamble as they are much more affordable. As more and more people become comfortable with shopping online for a variety of goods, this can only help online art sales too.

Selling your Art Online - Website Tips For Artists

If you plan to sell your art online with your own unique website, my advice is simple: Be Different! There are hundreds of artist websites online today that are all making the same mistakes.

The first problem I would like to note, is the use of long multimedia presentations that artists are incorporating into their websites. I don't think there is anything more frustrating then arriving at a website and waiting for this huge multimedia presentation to download and play. The artist may think it's cool or adds something to their work, but in all actuality, it only frustrates impatient surfers. Not all Internet users have super fast cable or DSL connections. Many are still using dial up modems and if they have to wait for something to download, they will simply leave and visit your competition.

There are also sites that insist on putting unrelated banner ads or other unrelated advertising on their websites. Just the other day I was doing a search for original watercolor art. The first website I arrived at had a big banner at the top of the website advertising a dating site. I am not sure how dating is related to watercolors? This is simply a distraction and you are immediately sending visitors off your website. If you are going to advertise on your website, make sure it's related to the theme of your website and is helpful to your visitors. Do not make it the very first thing they see when they arrive at your home page.

You need to catch your visitor's attention right away. This means putting your most important information near the top of your website in plain view. Your goal is to draw your visitor into your site immediately with a compelling headline so that they stay long enough to check out what you have to offer. Once you draw them in with a good headline, you must then direct them to take an action. That could be to subscribe to your newsletter, or to check out your latest product(s).

Keep your site navigation consistent throughout your entire site. This means having the same navigation links in the same order on every page of your website. Your goal is to make it as easy as possible for your visitors to get from one place to the next, not to confuse them.

Make sure your visitors can easily contact you. Put a link to a contact page on every page of your site.

If you have testimonials, use them. Testimonials are awesome sales tools. People love to hear good reviews about a product or products they are about to purchase. It really does boost sales. If you have ever received testimonials from customers, highlight a few of them on your home page in clear view. If you do not have testimonials yet, contact people that have purchased from you in the past and ask if they could provide feedback on the product they purchased for inclusion on your website. Make sure they know how you plan to use their testimonial, and ask if you can site their name with the testimonial.

Start an opt-in newsletter. If you do not already have a method for collecting your visitors email addresses, then you may be losing sales. Many people who first come to your site will usually leave without making a purchase. It is important therefore to collect as many email addresses as possible so that you can follow up with your visitors. You could send out an announcement to your list of subscribers whenever you have a new piece for sale. If you regularly attend art or craft shows, you could send out an email and let your subscribers know when and where. You could also send out surveys or questionnaires to your list to get a better idea as to the type of products they are interested in purchasing.

Make certain that you have a variety of different payment options for your customers, especially payment by credit card. Studies have shown that sites, which accept credit card payments, have significantly more sales. Use a service like PayPal to accept credit cards from your website. It's free and easy to setup.

Make sure you have detailed purchasing and shipping instructions in place.

Have a good refund policy. When your customer receives your product, it may not be exactly what they anticipated. By having a good refund policy upfront, you will gain your customers trust and they will be more comfortable making a purchase, especially if they are parting with a lot of money.

Include a "Privacy Policy". Internet users are a paranoid bunch. People are still somewhat reluctant to part with personal information, so it is your job to make them feel at ease when they use your website. In a nutshell, a privacy policy clearly states what you do with users personal information. What kind of information do you collect from your visitors? What do you do with that information? Do you share it with anyone? If you are not sure how to create a privacy policy, visit the following website to access an easy to use Privacy Policy Generator: http://www.the-dma.org/privacy/creating.shtml
Include a "Terms of Use" section. This section outlines the terms and conditions for using your website. For instance, you probably want to restrict visitors from copying or reproducing the images on your website. You would put that in your Terms of Use section.

When adding images of your products, always use thumbnails that can be clicked to show a larger image, so that your pages download quickly. If the larger image is a big file, let the visitor know that they may have to wait for the picture to load.

Avoid putting traffic counters on your site. Counters make your site appear amateurish. If your site is fairly new, and your traffic is not yet established, you are broadcasting this to everyone that arrives at your site. If you need to track your website statistics, check with your hosting company. You may already have a good website statistics program included.

Choose a basic color scheme and only one or two different fonts. If you go overboard on color and use too many different fonts, your site will look out of balance and amateurish. Your website does not have to be a work of art. You are trying to sell your art, not your website.

Use a light background, preferably white, with dark text, preferably black. Don't use images or textures for your background. This makes it difficult for your visitor to read the text on your site.

Avoid adding music to your site. You may think it sounds nice to include your favorite songs when your page loads, but not everyone will agree. If they find the music annoying, they will leave.

Don't make your visitor have to scroll horizontally to view information on your website. Web surfers are lazy. Most hate to even scroll up and down let alone left and right.

Avoid animated graphics and scrolling or flashing text. This only distracts your visitors.

Put prices on all of your products. If people have to contact you to find out the price of something, they will more often than not leave and look elsewhere.

Make sure your site works in all the major browsers. The most popular browser today is Internet Explorer, but there are a good amount of surfers who use Netscape, Opera, and Firefox. Check out http://www.anybrowser.com/siteviewer.html. They have a great tool that enables you to see what your site looks like in various browsers.

Lastly, make your website personal. Speak to your visitors. Let them know who you are and what your art or craft is all about. Educate and enlighten. Include a step-by-step article or demonstration on how your work is created. If people have more of a connection with you and your art, they will be more comfortable buying from you.

I hope these website tips have helped. I wish you the best of luck in everything that you do.