Which do you like better, oil painting or watercolor?

I've only been painting with oils for a short time-in fact I only started to really sell anything in 2001, after I'd been working with them for about six or eight months. I've considered myself a "watercolorist only" for all my professional life. Right now I'm working on a bunch of new ideas,  some will be watercolors and some will be oils. Basically, I'm thrilled to be able to do both. The painting entitled "Autumn at the Union Terrace" is a recent watercolor, and I think it's one of my best watercolors ever. I love doing all that texture, and watercolor lends itself to that kind of work. On the other hand, I'm enjoying all the flexibility of oils. I can soften the edges, make multiple corrections and adjustments, put bright /light colors on top of darker colors, and frame the painting without cutting mats or using glass. Also, it's no big secret that oil paintings often sell better(for no real good reason), and often at a higher price than watercolors. Most recently. I've tried my hand at acrylics, and I think there will be more of them in the near future.

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How long does it take to do a painting?

I hear this one all the time. A very large and/or detailed painting will take two to four months, but most of my paintings are more modest in size, and take two to six weeks. I can even do real small/simple one in a couple days.

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How do you decide which painting to do next?

I have a hard time with this, because I've got so many terrific ideas right now it's difficult not to do them all first. Sometimes I've got a show coming up so I will choose whatever I think I can complete in time for the opening night. I've been known to finish a painting, frame it and bring it to an opening night reception all on the same day! I can't do that with oil paintings because they require weeks of drying time (something that makes planning more important). Actually, one of the advantages of self-publishing has been the ability to paint whatever I want, and then make a print right away. When I was published by a big publisher I knew that only one or two paintings would make it to print each year, so I would have "mental constipation" trying to figure out which painting would be the best print. Now I don't focus too much attention on making that one big-selling print; I'm more focused on just making as many good paintings as I possibly can. Being productive over the long run is very important to me.

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What do you do with the paintings after you make a print-do you just keep them?

I make more money selling original paintings than selling prints, so as you can probably guess, I sell them. I know of very few artists who earn an entire income from print sales; for most of us the print money helps to pay the bills while we wait for the "big check" to come from a painting sale.

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Doesn't making reproductions of your paintings cheapen them?

What cheapens a painting is mostly within the painting itself; in other words, if a painting is done poorly, or is just plain cheesy-that cheapens it more than anything. There are a lot of "original only" paintings that are pretty bad. Having said that, I do believe it is important to reproduce one's work with quality and integrity. A big reason I self-publish my prints is to have control over how they are done, and all the peripheral issues, like how they get presented and what surrounds them. It seems that when people ask about prints cheapening the original paintings, they image a scenario where a beautiful, original painting is actually turned into something else, simply because it has been reproduced elsewhere. An original painting will always be just that-an original painting. The rule of supply and demand dominates the art world (like everywhere else), and demand for original paintings causes the value to go up. I can't imagine a well-done and in-demand painting all of a sudden losing it's value because high quality, limited-edition prints have been produced. However, I know that prints can increase the value of an artists work, simply because a much larger audience is seeing that work. This can be taken too far, of course, and you won't see any of my work on TV trays, beer steins, or $69.95 discount house framed posters! The bottom line is that having prints is a great way to share my work with a lot more people, and support my family better at the same time.

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Do you paint horses?
(or mountains, lighthouses, boats, deer, European scenes, dogs, etc...)

Technically, I could paint anything; because once you learn how to draw and paint it applies to anything. However, I've decided to focus on what I really love, which is the landscape. In the past few years I've turned down some commission work because I want to stay focused on my vision.

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What exactly are "Giclee" Prints?

We take a digitally captured image of a painting and reproduce it on paper using an advanced version of ink-jet printing; the ink is sprayed on the paper instead of being applied with rollers. The painting can be digitally captured by either scanning the painting on a very high-quality scanner; or it can be first photographed with a large-format camera, and the resulting transparency is then scanned. It is also possible for a large-format camera equipped with a "digital back" (instead of film) to be used. I'm using a company that has one of only a handful specialized Cruse scanners in the country, and it does a terrific job of capturing the paintings (two of the other scanners are at the Library of Congress & the Smithsonian Institute!). Here's a photo of the Cruse scanner that is used to capture my artwork...

The company I use in Minneapolis is called "DPI Art Services" and their website is: www.dpiartservices.com.

The term Giclee (pronounced "zheeclay") is usually used to describe this type of print, and it adds a certain mystery to the process-but not any clarity. "Archival" means non-fading or light fast. In other words, these prints won't fade for a long time. Our equipment uses pigment-based inks, (as opposed to dye-based inks), and the molecular structure of the inks contribute to their longevity. Current testing by Wilhelm Research indicates an archival rating of nearly one hundred years. These are estimates, because only time will tell for sure. I feel most comfortable saying that these prints will look terrific for at least the rest of your life. I always frame my work with UV protected glass for extra protection, and I strongly recommend everyone do the same.

      Here's a few photos of my "giclee" prints along side an offset lithographic version of the same image; I shot these pictures on an angle to show the sheen on an offset print which is visable at certain angles, also, you'll notice the deckled edge which is a feature of my two University of Wisconsin giclee prints:

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What is an Offset Lithographic Print?

Most anything printed in large quantities is done using this type of printing. Magazines, posters, labels, brochures and book covers are all examples. Not to be confused with hand-made "stone lithographs;" this amazing process requires a large printing press and a complex set-up process. Although the end cost of individual prints is very reasonable, a large number of prints need to be made (and sold) to cover all the set-up fees. Compared to my new Digital Archival Prints, the offset lithographic prints look more "printed"; they use a thicker oil-based ink, which is more shiny-especially in the dark areas. Also, there is a slightly noticeable dot pattern, when viewed very close-up. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with offset lithography; in fact, there have been significant new improvements in the past few years. I'm very happy with the quality of my Open Edition "Autumn at the Union Terrace" & "Autumn at Bascom Hill" prints, which are offset lithographic prints. They feature the most art for the least amount of money of any of my prints. I will be publishing a small number of offset prints whenever it makes sense to do so.

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What is an Artist Proof?

Originally, when prints where made on a hand-cranked type of press, an artist proof had a completely different meaning than today. The artist often worked with a print maker who would do the bulk of the printing, which involved inking a metal or stone plate, and making an impression on a single sheet of paper. It was a very labor-intensive type of printing, and because of the handwork, no two prints were ever exactly alike. Before the print maker could produce prints without the assistance of the artist, an acceptable "artist proof" would have to be printed; it would be the print that looked correct to the artist, and served as the reference for all subsequent prints in the edition. To purchase the exclusive artist proof would be of definite value, especially because the printing plate could become worn as the edition reached its conclusion. As photomechanical offset lithographic printing allowed reproductions to be made in large quantities, publishing companies emerged to fund this large-scale method of printing and to (sometimes) profit from it as well. The tradition of offering artist proofs continued, even though they were only signed and numbered differently-the actual print looked the same as all the "regular edition" prints. The real benefit of the artist proof was to the artist. When I was published by both Stanton & Lee (now defunct) and Wild Wings, the artist proofs were an edition of prints that was 10% of the size of the regular edition. For example, the print entitled "Evening Light-Milking Time" has 750 prints in the regular edition, and those prints are sold in various galleries, as well as directly by Wild Wings in their catalogs and website. I receive a small royalty for each print that sells (emphasis on small). However, I had my own supply of 75 signed and numbered artist proofs that I could sell directly to the customer. I don't have any more of these, but there are some Wild Wings prints that are still available in the regular edition; and even though I don't have any to sell, I'm not at all opposed to people buying those prints from other sources (more on that issue in the next question). So, now that I'm my own publisher I really don't need to promote artist proofs because I get paid the full amount for all my prints. However, I still make a very small number of artist proofs available for two reasons; 1.) because some collectors really like having the artist proofs and they're happy to pay the extra $30.00 or so for the more exclusive print; and 2.) I can use the artist proofs as donations to various fund-raising activities, and use the regular prints for everything else.

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How come I see a bunch of websites promoting Kozar prints from Wild Wings?

From 1994 until 2001 I had a number of prints published by "Wild Wings"- a company that publishes prints, as well as being a large catalog company selling various household items like furniture and such. They were nice people to work with, and they did a number of things to promote my work; but it became clear that I needed to go on my own if my work was going to be promoted and presented the way I really wanted it to be. Because there are still a lot of Kozar prints in Wild Wings' inventory, I expect they will continue to catalog them and, hence, various Wild Wings dealers will continue to sell them. It's worth noting that most of the websites listing Wild Wings prints don't actually have them in their inventories-they order them after a customer orders them-so don't drive somewhere expecting to view my prints just because a gallery promotes them on a website. In the past year or two Wild Wings began discounting some of the framed prints they sell and reducing my royaltes as a result (so much for contracts...). Anyway, I'm not too excited about how my older prints are being sold anymore-I hope you'll understand why. Mostly though, I do encourage people to buy my older prints from a Wild Wings dealer if they like them-there's nothing wrong with that.

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Do you ever give lessons?

I love to teach! I am going to have some workshops in the Madison area in the beginning of each year. Please make sure I have your email and street address so I can send you information when I finalize the dates and locations. These will be from 9 to 5 (or so) on a Saturday, and will cost apx $75.00. I'll cover some of the basics of watercolor, like how to make the paint do what you want it to do; have students do some exercises and we'll discuss student work for those who wish to bring it. I promise you-you will learn a lot! It will also be a lot of fun, so make sure you're on the list.

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How come your paintings look so real?

There is no secret technique-no special brush or paper that I invented or anything like that. Basically, I'm using the same fundamentals for painting that have been used for centuries, I'm just finishing everything off with a greater degree of detail. Those fundamentals include an accurate understanding of perspective, light and color. I don't use any airbrush, and I certainly don't paint "on the top of photographs" as some people have suggested. Both watercolor and oil can be manipulated with incredible definition, if one has the inclination and patience to do so.

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Isn't the original painting much larger than the print?

Sometimes people assume that the prints are a smaller version of a large painting; this is usually a way of trying to explain the detail. The truth is, however, that many of my prints are the exact same size of the original! In the case of "Misty Morning-Spring Farm"& "Misty Morning-Spring Trees" the original paintings were only 8" x 8"- even though we made prints that are 11" x 11"!

These are some of the prints that are exactly the same size as the originals;

"Ripening Pumpkins"; "Farmland Morning in Dane County"; "Winter Solitude"; "Spring Morning-Elvers Creek"; "Autumn Leaves-Long Shadows"; "Summer Morning-Elvers Creek"; "Winter Sunrise-Sugar River #1 & #2"

Here's the dimensions of other originals compared to the print sizes:

"Quiet Summer Morning" original painting was 11" x 37", print size is 9.5" x 32"; "Passing Storms-Forever Brother & Sister" original painting 24" x 18", print size is 14.5" x 11"; "Sledding at the Brigham Farm" original painting was 8.25" x 18", print size is 7.25" x 16";  "Winter at the Donald Farm" original painting is 16" x 32," which is the same size as the large print of that painting.

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What determines a good investment and How can I avoid getting ripped-off? (Steve gets on his soap box...)

There is no "blue book" for artwork. There is, however, plenty of room for common sense. Perhaps most importantly, a work of art should be a good investment emotionally-one should enjoy looking at it immensely. It is probably never going to be re-sold, but it is definitely going to be looked at for a long time. There will always be a place for unquestionable quality.

Furthermore, beware of the overnight sensation whose work is "everywhere." Think of how many "Painter of Light" galleries have already closed their doors. Savvy marketing can lend the appearance of legitimacy, but the truly valid work of art comes from the hand (and heart) of the relentless artist, crafting his work year after. I'm just one of many such artists; I'm always trying to improve my work and connect with viewers in a meaningful way. Not surprisingly, it's that kind of work that actually does go up in value, over a long period of time; because, in the end, quality tends to speak very well for itself.

     When it comes to buying prints, there are a couple of simple guidelines to keep in mind. Small edition sizes are preferable to larger ones; that's a no-brainer. How valuable can a print be if there are thousands of copies available, in a bunch of different sizes?

     If you ever stop in to visit a gallery, and within a few minutes the salesman starts talking to you about the resale value of an artist's prints, and tells you that his latest edition will increase in price very soon ("so you better buy one right away."), I suggest you leave immediately and don't go back. My wife and I have visited galleries where we never tell them I'm a professional full-time artist; it's very irritating to hear the kind of fabrications these people come up with. The other trick is when the salesperson asks which painting you like best, and whatever your choose, they'll take that painting into a separate little room to perform the dreaded "dimmer switch trick." This is where you are told of this particular painting's ability to "change with the light," or "glow as the light gets dimmer." It's true, a good spotlight does bring out a painting's colors, but the truth is, you could thumb-tack a cereal box to the wall and the dimmer switch would produce similar results.

     One more thing I should mention about prints; in describing the "old way" of making prints by hand, I need to point out that there are still artists using those "old" techniques, and producing some wonderful works of art. These type of prints, often called "original graphics" are intrinsically valuable because of their hand-made nature. Examples of this type of print include etchings, stone-lithographs, silkscreen prints (or serigraphs) and wood-cuts.

     I'm not a print-maker, per-se; I'm a painter who makes reproductions of his paintings. I produced some hand-painted etchings early in my career, and I soon realized that I couldn't be a print-maker and a painter; both require a huge commitment of time and energy. However, I'm very happy to make the type of prints that I do; they're stunningly accurate, with a rich and vivid matte finish (like an original watercolor), they're very reasonably priced, and I've kept the edition sizes low enough to give my customers great value. 

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