Giclee Prints - What's the Big Deal?

I'm excited to launch my new range of giclee fine art landscape prints next week.  I have created a lot of new work recently, from which some clear favourites have hit home with you all. So I thought, why wait?

If you are on my mailing list you will receive a notification when they go live, and also a reminder of your always-standing 10% off discount code (forgot about that didn't you!).  Also, I'm a registered Klarna partner on Shopify so that means that you can apply 3 months interest free credit to any purchase.

I thought I'd show you a bit of insight in to how I create my prints, based on questions you've asked me in the past.  

What is a Giclee Print?

Giclees are basically super-fancy inkjet prints, made with several colours of highly-pigmented ink on archival-quality paper.  This means that, with a bit of care (recommendations below), your fine art investment will last as long as an original work.  It could easily outlast all of us!

What Kind of Printer do you use to Make Them?

Oh I don't do it, this is a pro job.  I use a specialised firm of fine art printmakers over in Bristol and they are certified members of the printers guild.  My limited editions also come on an upgraded paper stock (a % of cotton content, wait til you feel one), with a certificate from the print house.  The open editions are printed on marginally less fancy (but still gorgeous archival quality) paper.  All prints are on thick acid free paper so they will really resist that yellowing and warping that you get with cheaper posters and chain store prints.

Caring for your Print

Basically, treat is as you would a painting.  In saying that, the print is for you to enjoy, so don't worry about it if you can't do all of the below:

• Have it professionally framed - this will protect the piece, and they will take care to seal the frame up to protect from dust and general atmospheric ick (technical term).  Also, it really will look its best.  
• Keep out of direct sunlight.  Although the inks are top of the range, any item subjected to strong light will deteriorate eventually.
• Protect from moisture and changing temperatures.  Again though, it's for you to enjoy; if you want to put it in your bathroom or above a radiator on a cold stony wall, you go right ahead, just be prepared that it might not remain its best self forever!

What Quality Can I Expect from the Image?

The best!  I go to great pains to achieve incredible detail when I photograph the pieces.  I have use of  professional lighting in Boom Studios, and I have my own DSLR kit so I get it all set up and shoot the best I can, then there's minor editing in photo shop to straighten them up, tweak out any pesky bits of dust I might have missed, etc.  You should clearly see brush strokes and canvas bobbles, unless I've gone specifically for a soft look.  You should be able to tell in the listing but (hands up some old listings may have been hastily done and not yet improved!) if you have any queries or want a closer look, please get in touch.  Obviously, paintings made on smooth wood or metal panels won't show canvas bobbles in the print!  

Can I Get a Bigger Version?

I'm afraid not.  To me, if you are desperate for that big statement piece, you should own it.  I wouldn't like to own an original and find out that someone had a bigger statement version of it than I did, would you?  

Most prints are smaller than the original.  Some, in the case of smaller paintings, are the same size, and some of the limited edition (only 25 available each) might be the same size as the original.  But generally, the original will be larger than the prints.

If I Commission a Painting, Will you Make Prints of It?

Not as standard, no.  If you've come to me to create a one-off piece to your specifications, that's not for anyone else to own a piece of.

I do have it in my T&Cs though, that if you commission a piece and then cancel it, the rights to sale and reproduction of that image remain with me.  So if I had made, or planned to make a painting for you, then you don't take it, I will still sell it and then I probably will make prints of it in that case, if I like the image.  See my commission T&Cs here

Thanks for reading, you can browse my current range of prints here.  Don't forget to sign up to the newsletter for the new collection pre-order with your 10% discount!