FREE MICHAEL CHARRON GICLEE
Copy the image above of Michael Charron’s “East of Pearl” into your pictures folder then print it on fabric, photo paper, bond paper etc. CONGRATULATIONS you have a giclee
IMPORTANT: Giclee Art Buyer Beware website is not against artists making giclees or artists profiting from their artwork. We do, however, stand for assisting art buyers to make informed decisions about the artwork they acquire.
The art business is not regulated and is a prime example of a “buyer beware” market place.
Giclee (/zhee-clay), is a neologism coined in 1991 for digitally formatted images that are printed with ink-jet printers.
In relationship to “fine art” images created by ink jet printers have no significant, real or monetary value, their value lies entirely within the realm of “decoration”. This applies even if the giclee is hand embellished (actual paint dabs placed on the printed image) hand signed and originate from a limited edition (number of prints produced). This assessment applies to any and all original oil paintings, acrylic paintings, water colors, gouaches, pastels, drawings, intaglios, lithographs, serigraphs etc. that are photomechanically reproduced.
The French word l'estampe defines an original fine art print as one in which the artist works a plate, or stone, by hand by himself or with the assistance of a master printmaker. No photo process may be used to transfer the image to a planographic surface. If photo processes are used to transfer previously existing images to a plate it is considered a reproduction not a hand made print. Machine made fine art reproductions do not and never will have significant value.
We invite you to consider the following when you evaluate a giclee purchase:
Copper Plate Method of Reproduction: Today some artists are placing images onto copper plates via photo transfer techniques then referring to them as fine original intaglio prints. The artist or gallery then charges the unsuspecting consumer grotesque amounts of money for what are essentially copies printed from copper plates. This is extremely misleading as these prints are not original etchings.
The nuances within the art business are plentiful and esoteric. Please consider Giclee Art Buyer Beware as a source of expert information when it comes to fine art and the printed reproduction thereof. Qualifications of the two proprietors of Giclee Art Buyer Beware are, but not limited to; 68 combined years experience in the art business since earning their advanced fine art degrees and both are charter members of the Taos Society of Etchers.