This issue's opinion Art crime is an issue which mnay artists may not consider, since to many artists crimes involving art deal mainly with museums and famous artists. There are several segments to art crime: fraud forgery theft and recovery money laundering, and copyright issues, which appears to be the most prevalent concern for artists - at least those who contact cowboyartshow.com and capausa.org. Fraud, forgery, and theft and recovery should all be of some concern in today's market, particularly since many artists use the Internet to show their work. Since every upside usually has a downside, the downside to the "Internet art catalog or showroom" is that images can be grabbed, copied, and sold, without the artist having any knowledge of the crime taking place - or that the crime has transpired. Even with low resolution images, a painting or drawing or even a sculpture, can be reproduced. Once the "original" copy is in the hands of yeomen art copiers, copies can be churned out on a production line basis. Of course, this depends to some degree on the quality of the work stolen, as well as the subject matter. If the work is deemed marketable, as it would be if copied and produced, it could end up at a number of different retail/wholesale outlets, particularly if the creating artist is unknown. This kind of theft is subtle, and one which has occurred in the past - art work taken by crochet pattern designers, for instance. This crime is a theft of property, violates copyrights, and is fraudulent in that the work is represented to be something which it is not. The crime can also damage the reputation of the originating artist, since the work will appear to be mass produced and it may not approach the quality of the original. Money Laundering is a crime usually connected with those who need to move "black money" - funds through illegal activities. Although it was stated in the last iissue of CA&R that art should not be sold for investment purposes, buers can launder funds through the legitimate method of buying art on the prospect of the work enhancing in value. So what does all of this mean to you, as a buyer or artist seller. For the buyer it means "caveat emptor" - no why you're buying art or from whom the purchase is made; for the artists, it means taking all reasonable - and sometimes extra-reasonable - steps to ensure that your work does not find itself appropriated by the criminal element. Until next time Joe Chernicoff, CAPA Exec. Director Real cowboy stories at cowboyartshow.com Bob Kinford's new adventure in ranching "Cleanup" is now online. If you enjoy reading about the adventures and mishaps that are a regular part of ranch life, you'll enjoy Bob's stories. Some Print Definitions Once in a while, we get a request for information about different print processes or types. To help our readers understand these, a few definitions afre listed below, along with a few web sites which should be able to provide more information Silver Prints - Silver prints, usually referred to as "black and white prints", are coated with a halogen compound such as bromide, iodine and silver that provide the light sensitive material necessary to create an image - thus the term SILVER PRINTS. This coating, which is referred to as the emulsion, is applied to two different mediums: fiber-based paper and resin coated (RC) paper. The exposed sheet of paper is developed - converting the negative image from film into a positive image on the paper. It is then fixed in a fixing bath, wasted and then dried. Non-Silver prints - During the 1840s, a great number of photographic printing processes were developed which were based on the light sensitivity of metals other than silver. The non-silver processes that I use for my images can be divided into two groups: the ferric (iron) processes, which are cyanotype, platinum and palladium, and the kallitype (van dyke) brown printing; and the second group, dichromate (or bichromate) processes, which includes the gum printing process. Click here for more Giclee Prints - A giclee or giclée [pronounced gzee-clay] is a high-grade reproduction using a digitized image that is sprayed onto the paper or canvas with a fine resolution ink-jet or bubble-jet printer. Although a giclee image is not pressed onto the substrate, it is generally referred to as a print. Unlike a lithograph or a serigraph, a giclee does not put each color down all at once, but rather prints the image out one dot or one pixel at a time. By using a wide variety of colors, each put on individually dot per dot, the colors of the reproduction can be very exacting, sometimes even capturing the subtle differences in color brought about by the brush-strokes of the original. Because each of the applied colors are not placed onto the s ubstrate all at once, the giclee process takes much longer than a lithograph or serigraph, which is one reason giclees tend to be in a higher price range. Click here for more

Etching - An etching is a print taken from a sheet of metal, usually copper, zinc or steel, into which the image has been bitten with acid. In a line-etching the metal plate is first covered with an acid - resistant “ground”. The artist draws the image through this ground, thus exposing the metal surface, and then immerses the plate in an acid bath. The acid etches away the unprotected metal, creating lines which hold ink. The artist may use different effects, but always relies on the acid to etch the plate. An etching is an “intaglio” print ( from the Italian word meaning to carve or incise). An intaglio print is printed on an etching under tremendous pressure, so that the dampened paper is actually forced into the inked lines and textures of the plate. Other types of intaglio prints are engravings, drypoints, line-engraving and mezzotints. Lithography - A lithograph is printed from slabs of Bavarian limestone, or more recently from zinc or aluminium plates. The artist draws or paints the image on to the stone using a greasy crayon or ink. The stone is chemically treated to fix the image. In the printing of a lithograph, the stone is dampened and the ink is rolled over it; the greasy areas of the image attract the ink while the damp areas of the stone repel it. The paper is laid on the stone and pressure is applied by means of a lithographic press; thus the image is transferred to the paper.Click here for more CAPA Artist's work Sets Auction Record At the recent Black Hills Stock Show Foundation auction held in Rapid City, South Dakota, CAPA member Mick Harrison's original gouache painting, "The Clown Jewels" brought $3900. A limited edition print of the same painting, signed by the artist along with the five rodeo clowns depicted, brought a record $3200. The Foundation holds it's annual fundraiser in conjunction with the Black Hills Stock Show, a Wrangler Pro Rodeo Tour event held in Jan.-Feb. each year. Funds raised are used for scholarships, etc. "The Clown Jewels" Rodeo Schedules and Information For rodeo schedules and information - including barrel racing schedules, visit: Cowboyway.com BarrelRider.com Additional Rodeo Schedule sites World of Rodeo Cowboyway Rodeo Mining Co. Newest addition to cowboyartshow.com artist studio doorways An Arlington, Texas native, Brenda J. Murphy brings together a life-long passion for Western scenes, professional artistic skills, and a flair for working with pencil. She draws from her own photographs–both black & white and color–of real, modern day cowboys who kindly oblige her request to capture their image on film and then interpret on paper with pencil.