Original, Glicée or Embellished Giclée... What is the difference?
In a perfect world, we could all own nothing but original art. Bet let's be honest... originals are often (rightfully) priced much higher, and that can put them out of reach for many of us. As an artist, one of my main goals is to spread joy and happiness.
In oder to do that effectivly I want to reach as many people as I can, so it is important for me to be able to offer my work at a range of price points. While nothing will look quite as good as an original, I thinks everyone deserves to surround themselves with art they love! That is where prints come in.
I offer two different kinds of prints: Paper Giclée Prints and Cancas Giclée Gallery Wraps. The Galler Wraps can be plain or "embellished".
But what does all of that mean?
Paper Gliclée Prints:
Paper prints are pretty straightforward. Prints, on paper. Thes are made by taking a super high resolutuion photograph of the originalk artwork, and then printing it on paper with an inkjet printer. There is a big difference between these and a poster or wall art you'd find at retail trade, however, and that is for two reasons:
The fist reason is the ink. In oder to be considered a "giclée" it must be printed using highly- pigmented, archival inks. Thet means that 10, 20 or 50 years from now, the colors of your print will look exactly the same as the day you purchased it.
The secound reason is the paper. 100% cotton is a must. My favorite right now is Hahnemühle Photo Rag. The bright white color makes the vibrant hues of my art pop even more, and since it is acid and lignin free you can rest assured that your print will stand the test of time and not turn yellow.
Canvas Giclée Prints:
Giclée do not have to be printed on paper. They can also be printed on 100% cotton canvas material and wrapped around wooden stretcher bars, giving you a "Gallery wrap". Right off the bat, giclée producion methods are going to make these prints superior to your standard wall art from a big box retailer. But to make your artwork even more unique, you can choose to have it hand embellished.
What is an embellished giclée?
"Embellishing" refers to painting over areas of the image to apply brush strokes and enhance color. After receiving the giclée back from the printer, I add a hand painted signature. Then I grab by brushes and palette knives and go over the entire surface with a combination of paint and thick, clear acrylic medium in oder to increase texture on the surface and make some of the colors stand out. The extra dimension makes it look more like an original, at a fraction of the cost. Plus, since these extra steps are done by hand by yours truly, no two embellishes prints are exactly the same!
