#reproducing

Imagine frequently reminiscing of Evan, your ex. He was almost the right person at the wrong time, you figure. The relationship was moving too fast and you weren’t looking to settle down and have a dozen or so kids just then.

You do feel a teensy bit bad about skipping town and having his child without his knowledge. But now you’re happily married to a patient husband... Almost too patient, actually. You want to give your kid a younger sibling now.

But, lucky you: Evan’s found out your new address. And he’s been debating whether or not to knock you up before getting your husband out of the picture.

I do a fair number of commissions when I open them. And of course, the big question for all concerned is: how much $$$?

Apparently (based on information obtained from patrons who have commissioned from other people and then asked me to do a project for them), very few artists discuss Rights Ownership over a work.

Rights Ownership: the ability to legally reproduce, sell, and use an image

If Karen comes to me and says, "please draw my beloved golden retriever," I am excited. I love drawing pets. Thing is, lots of people have beautiful golden retrievers too. This is work I can make at Karen's request and still potentially sell at a later date.

If I own the rights, I know I can make money off this work at a later time, and therefore I charge Karen a much lower fee. The fee is still significantly higher than a print because this project is NOT where I would have chosen to devote my time, especially if I have a show coming up.

Karen may come back and say, "oh no, that's my special one of a kind baby and I don't want that work reproduced!" I respect and understand this too. But in this case, Karen will have to pay for the rights to that image. If she owns the rights, I can't ever make $$ from that work again. I have to charge her significantly more for an original work.

If Karen's pup is a one-eyed, three-legged, battle-scarred baby, then maybe this isn't a work I can sell later because I don't know too many people who also have a pup fitting that description. I don't have to offer to keep the rights. I treat it as an original work and just give her the one price.

If you don't talk about this with your patrons, START NOW.

And patrons, you deserve to know if your commission could eventually end up on a t-shirt or mug or print rack -- and if you don't want it to, be prepared to pay for that.

I tell a LOT of creators, especially when they're new to selling their items, do not price on what you spent, price based on replacement value. In sculpture, I may have spent a pittance for a special piece (ie, because it was on sale, etc) but if you ever had to reproduce it or make something similar, would that be the price to replace it? In the case of drawings, I will never get those hours back.

I guess we all knew this would happen…

https://youtu.be/KOj207YHjWw

Translation of the video,

"This paint is done by boiling indigo-dyed cloth with starch syrup and lime to extract the color , and drying it. Indigo dyed cloth had been familiar used for clothes in the Edo period, and the worn-out cloth had been used as a raw material for paints.But,nowadays, those natural indigo dyed cloths are hard to get due to its rarity and high price , so I use natural indigo dyed yarn.

There is another method of making the pigment to collect the scum on the surface of indigo dye.

When focusing on the sole blue part in the original prints, the frequency of use of indigo paint is not so high at first in the history of ukiyo-e.But It has been used more frequently since the late 1810s.

Around that time, it is thought that the method for making indigo from used indigo cloth mentioned above became widespreaded.

At the shaved part of the forehead of Sharaku's work published in 1794 , one indigo is used, that it's said to not be able to be distinguished from Prussian blue by the naked eye .Indigo color is usually astringent blue, and how to make that indigo paint like Prussian blue is not yet cleared up."

Special Thanks:Kouji Sugahara and Yousuke Suemitsu

Note:

It is said that the technique of dyeing with leaves of polygonum tinctorium called "tade-ai蓼藍", containing indigo color  was introduced to Japan in the 5th century.The technology of dyeing with natural indigo has changed over time in Japan, but at least in the Heian period（794~ca1185）, the method of dyeing by fermentation vatting process with precipitation indigo was generally used to some extent.It is said that collecting the scum generated on the upper surface of the dye liquid and drying to make indigo paint had also been carried  out at this period.There are various names for the word "indigo paint " in literatures, but at least after 1800, in Edo , the name "ai-ro藍蝋（indigo paste)" was commonly used. And at least at the end of the Edo period, it is confirmed that there was a stick-shaped indigo paint called "bo-to-ro棒唐蝋" in the market, which was presumably imported from China.

In Ukiyoe, the introduction of the indigo paint came to be commonly used from"Benizuri-e".But, its use as a green color mixed with yellow paint  is more common than as a blue color alone.

（Benizuri-e is one of the styles of ukiyoe.It was invented in the Kanpo era (1741-44), and multi-colored ukiyoe prints with about three colors, such as black, red and green.）

( Example of benizuri-e. Original resource:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60028204 )

In "Nishiki-e", which was created after "Benizuri-e", aobanagami is mainly used as a sole blue color , while indigo is mainly used as a paint to bring out the green color.

Aobanagami tends to fade easily and becomes gray, yellowish brown or colorless with age, while the indigo is a color that is resistant to change over time.

（Example of fading aobanagami and indigo of green. It can be looked that aobanagami is used for the water and sky gradation (and purple for kimonos, etc.), and indigo is used for the green parts.Resource:　 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60028163 ）

Later, in 1794, the bright indigo paint that had never been seen before was introduced in ukiyoe.According to a book,「浮世絵に名品に見る「青」の変遷」（2012）,it is impossible to distinguish this indigo from prussian blue  by the naked eye without scientific analysis, and it was identified from the shaved part of the forehead in 4 of 28 works of actor's upper body print of Sharaku , published in May, 1794.

（Example of usage of "bright indigo".It can be looked at the shaved part of the forehead.Resource:

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/86915/the-actor-otani-tokuji-i-as-manservant-sodesuke）

Since the other works excepting the 4 works use the fast-fading blue paint of aobanagami for the shaved part of the forehead , the part at present has changed to pale yellowish brown, etc. , as the following picture. Generally, in the reprinted Ukiyoe, the part is printed in various colors (probably for the color after or during the fading of aobanagami) with completely different paints , however the original color of the part can be  considered to be "clear blue" by the aobanagami or the bright indigo (prussian blue  after Tenpo era).

（Example of fading of aobanagami at the shaved part of the forehead.Resource:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60001435）

This kind of use of indigo is exceptional, and the all use of indigo as an sole  blue color continues to be less common also after that.

Eventually, around 1813(the 10th year of Bunka era), its use gradually began to be seen.From the end of the Bunka era (1804-17) to the next Bunsei era (1818-29), the use of indigo became to be seen more frequently.By the middle of the Bunsei era, the use of indigo became commonplace, and the transition from aobanagami to indigo was completed .

Behind this, it's highly probable there was the development and spread of the new method of making indigo paint ( the method of extracting the color from indigo-dyed cloth).

Eventually, the "mainstay of blue paint" shifted from Indigo to prussian blue , but I'll explain that next time.

Through surveying of literatures, I now have come to the conclusion that whether the aforementioned indigo which is indistinguishable from prussian blue  by the naked eye can be made depends on the number of times of removing the acridness in the manufacturing process or in the use of the product. I will be probably able to demonstrate this in the future.

(Example of usage of indigo from my reproducing.The mountain in the middle of this picture is used my hand made indigo paint made by extracting the color with lime and syrup, from indigo dyeing yarn dyed in Tokushima prefectur by fermentation vatting process with dye made of fermented indigo leaves. )

You can see the outline of making method of indigo paint in the following link. https://ukiyoereproduction.com/post/189714302442/%E3%83%BCthe-making-method-of-indigo-pigment

Reference:

青木良吉「浸染法」（1924）

後藤捷一・山川隆平編「染料植物譜」（1937）

川人美洋子「阿波藍」（2010）

武雄市歴史資料館「」（2012）http://www.city.takeo.lg.jp/rekisi/kikaku/2012/ao/ao.html

吉岡幸雄「日本の色を染める」（2012）

松井英男・南由紀子編「浮世絵の名品に見る「青」の変遷」（2012）