Anna Melton color-matching a work by Jo Ridge Kelley. Photo by Ben Zeidell
Twigs and Leaves Gallery announces the opening of Smoky Mountain Studios (SMS) in downtown Waynesville. Double Exposure, in the Asheville/Fletcher area for almost 20 years, became Smoky Mountain Studios after its purchase last year by Roger and Peggy Reid, owners of Twigs & Leaves Gallery. Newly relocated to Waynesville, SMS offer artists access to high-quality fine art printing services including museum-quality archival giclée printing on canvas and fine art paper, high-resolution digital capture of original artwork and custom-sized reproductions.
Smoky Mountain Studios invites the public to drop in from 6–9 p.m. on Friday, May 2, during Waynesville’s Art After Dark. Access is either from Main Street via steps to the back entrance or through the front entrance at 189 Wall Street.
“Smoky Mountain Studios is unique among fine art print houses in the Asheville area in that we are affiliated with a large, successful gallery,” says SMS artistic director Anna Melton. “Roger has been in business for decades, and that expertise guides the ship. Tiffani Watts, the Twigs & Leaves gallery manager, has an infectious energy and enthusiasm that helps all of us dream big. Almost everyone on the team is an artist, and each of them brings her own set of skills and knowledge to the table.”
Anna Melton building a stretcher frame
Melton worked at Double Exposure with the previous owners. “I first started printing while studying fine art at UNC Asheville from 2010 to 2015,” Melton says. Upon graduating, she got a job with Double Exposure, where she photographed original artwork, color-matched files, worked with customers and made archival prints. She has been printing ever since.
Giclées are archival prints made from high-resolution files. They are printed on an archival medium with archival pigments. “They are the standard for fine printing,” says Melton. “Depending on the medium you choose, our prints have archival ratings of 80 to 150 years in the right conditions.”
There are a number of reasons that prints are practical and desirable, Melton says. Artists are able to offer prints at much lower price points than originals, to show the same work in multiple locations and to compile a digital record of their work. “For many of our professional artists, archival prints are a practical and essential part of their business,” Melton says. “When a painter sells an original, it is gone forever. But if they have their work archived and ready to print, when their original sells they can sell those prints for the rest of their lives.” She likens it to residuals earned by TV actors, a way of continuing to earn a living off of their work through the years.
“As a professional artist for more than 30 years, I have found that most of my clients enjoy the option of purchasing custom giclées in addition to collecting original works of art,” says artist Jo Ridge Kelley. “I have worked with Anna for ten years and believe her color-matching skills and eye for detail to be the best around.”
Smoky Mountain Studios is located at 189 Wall Street, Waynesville. Learn more at SmokyMtnStudios.com or at TwigsAndLeaves.com.
