Let's all giclee. How an artist sees it.
Do you giclee? An artist's point of view.
I have been a working artist almost all my life. Due to the many years and a very curious nature I have had the good luck to have worked in almost every medium known: painting, sculpture (clay, bronze and marble), print making (lithography, etching, engraving and monoprinting), pottery, photography.
For most artists, prior to the invention of direct image reproduction (this is my definition of giclee) there was no way really to make multiples of, say, paintings except through a very expensive process of color separations and printing on a big press — and then you could not get a print the size of a painting much bigger than an art book. Do you want more than one? Then concentrate solely on artist printmaking: lithography perfect for the painter, or etching, engraving, perfect for the draughtsman.
But I want more than one of my painting.
I want my painting reproduced in the same size as the original and I want it to be exactly like the original. Wow, the wonders of giclee.
For those of you who know about printing, you'll know that of all the upper levels of mechanical reproduction, such as photo gravure, collotype, dye sublimation and so forth, they are all a poor facsimile of the original.
What do I know — I am just an artist trying to make a buck.
I worked at Blackbox Collotype in the days when the first Iris machines worked. We had a scanner camera (view camera with digital back) that could scan any size original at 100,000 dpi. When the print came off the Iris it was magic. Now, it's not like your cheap printer connected to your computer — there's a lot of trial and error to get it right. And when it's right I defy you to tell the difference between the print and the original.
Who are you to put up your nose at the Giclee print?
A lot of people who would like to collect art only want the originals but they don't have the money to buy them. They look down on Giclee because they think it's just like printing a digital print at home. After all, they own a digital camera, they print their digital images, so why pay for a digital print, at least why pay any more than ten bucks. Are these the same rag picking bargain hunting hounds that fill the ranks of Ebay?
A Giclee is ART in itself.
It is not something lesser. I have a plan to make a series of Giclees that I'd like to show in a gallery with large walls — the ten prints will be very big. I want to do this to show people how fine they are, that by themselves they make an art statement without reference to the original.
A Giclee is not some cheap digital image — yes there are cheap gicleezies out there — just look on Ebay. But look, there are also cheap original oils out there, the $49.95 match-your-couch-paintings (which are done in factories by very well trained painters in China and I know in Italy, where one guy paints the sky, another the clouds, etc). Do we then say all oils are cheap and put up our noses at a Vermeer or any other fine painter's paintings?
It is not cheap to make quality Giclees.
If you're a serious artist and want the best brothers and sisters for your painting, they don't come cheap. So I can't sell them for $10.00! I make a bet — try and tell me which is the original and which is the print. Want to take me up on this, email me.
I have been a working artist almost all my life. Due to the many years and a very curious nature I have had the good luck to have worked in almost every medium known: painting, sculpture (clay, bronze and marble), print making (lithography, etching, engraving and monoprinting), pottery, photography.
For most artists, prior to the invention of direct image reproduction (this is my definition of giclee) there was no way really to make multiples of, say, paintings except through a very expensive process of color separations and printing on a big press — and then you could not get a print the size of a painting much bigger than an art book. Do you want more than one? Then concentrate solely on artist printmaking: lithography perfect for the painter, or etching, engraving, perfect for the draughtsman.
But I want more than one of my painting.
I want my painting reproduced in the same size as the original and I want it to be exactly like the original. Wow, the wonders of giclee.
For those of you who know about printing, you'll know that of all the upper levels of mechanical reproduction, such as photo gravure, collotype, dye sublimation and so forth, they are all a poor facsimile of the original.
Do you want to buy this fabulous print?
Just click on this link and you'll be whisked off to Ebay where I have them listed.
What do I know — I am just an artist trying to make a buck.
I worked at Blackbox Collotype in the days when the first Iris machines worked. We had a scanner camera (view camera with digital back) that could scan any size original at 100,000 dpi. When the print came off the Iris it was magic. Now, it's not like your cheap printer connected to your computer — there's a lot of trial and error to get it right. And when it's right I defy you to tell the difference between the print and the original.
Who are you to put up your nose at the Giclee print?
A lot of people who would like to collect art only want the originals but they don't have the money to buy them. They look down on Giclee because they think it's just like printing a digital print at home. After all, they own a digital camera, they print their digital images, so why pay for a digital print, at least why pay any more than ten bucks. Are these the same rag picking bargain hunting hounds that fill the ranks of Ebay?
A Giclee is ART in itself.
It is not something lesser. I have a plan to make a series of Giclees that I'd like to show in a gallery with large walls — the ten prints will be very big. I want to do this to show people how fine they are, that by themselves they make an art statement without reference to the original.
A Giclee is not some cheap digital image — yes there are cheap gicleezies out there — just look on Ebay. But look, there are also cheap original oils out there, the $49.95 match-your-couch-paintings (which are done in factories by very well trained painters in China and I know in Italy, where one guy paints the sky, another the clouds, etc). Do we then say all oils are cheap and put up our noses at a Vermeer or any other fine painter's paintings?
Here's a really nice still life
It's for sale, just click here and you'll be taken to Ebay in a separate window.
It is not cheap to make quality Giclees.
If you're a serious artist and want the best brothers and sisters for your painting, they don't come cheap. So I can't sell them for $10.00! I make a bet — try and tell me which is the original and which is the print. Want to take me up on this, email me.
posted by Mackerel Gazeteer at 6:00 PM
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