So You Want to Buy One of My Prints, A Primer

So You Want to Buy One of My Prints

Buying a reproduction of a painting can be confusing. There are a lot of terms floating around—giclée, archival print, fine-art print, reproduction—and sometimes they make the whole thing sound much more mysterious than it really is.

So here’s what I mean when I offer reproductions of my paintings.

What Is a Giclée Print?

“Giclée” is essentially a fancy term for a very high-quality inkjet print. These are not posters. They are made using archival pigment inks and quality fine-art papers or canvas, with the goal of reproducing the color, detail, and character of the original painting as faithfully as possible.

Of course, a reproduction is not the original painting. It doesn’t have the actual surface, brushstrokes, texture, or physical history of the painting itself.

But it does allow you to live with the image. And that matters to me.

Print of the painting titled, Dusk In Garden

Made in My Studio

One thing that is important to me is that these prints are made entirely in my studio, by me.

I invested in a high-end professional printer and taught myself how to use it because I wanted control over the entire process—from preparing the image and adjusting color to choosing the paper and making the final print.

I don’t send a file somewhere and have a company produce the prints for me. I make them one at a time here in the studio.

That means I can look at the print, compare it to the original painting, make adjustments, and decide when it feels right. Color, density, contrast, paper, and scale all become part of the process.

Obviously, a reproduction will never have the physical surface of the original painting. But I want the print to carry as much of the character of the painting as I can bring to it.

In that sense, these aren’t simply products made from my images. They are something I make.

Why I Make Reproductions

Not everyone can—or wants to—spend several thousand dollars on an original painting. I understand that.

One reason I offer reproductions is to make my work available to more people. If you respond strongly to an image, I don’t think owning an original painting should be the only way you can have that image become part of your life and your home.

A reproduction is a different object from the original. I don’t pretend otherwise. But it can still be beautiful, carefully made, and worth living with.

What Are You Buying?

My reproduction prints are just that: reproductions of existing paintings.

They should not be confused with my original works on paper, drawings, paintings, or other works that begin as unique objects.

That distinction is important to me. I want you to know exactly what you are buying.

A Word About Price

I try to keep the prices of my reproductions reasonable.

You are paying for a carefully produced fine-art print, the materials used to make it, and the image itself—but you are not paying the price of the original painting.

That is really the point. I want these prints to provide another way into the work.

Shipping and Payment

Buying one is pretty simple.

I accept checks, cash, Venmo, and most common electronic payment methods. Prints can be shipped, and I package them carefully so that they arrive safely.

If you have questions before buying—about the image, size, paper, shipping, or anything else—just contact me. There is no obligation involved in asking a question.

The Important Part

Art doesn’t have to be intimidating.

You don’t have to understand the terminology. You don’t have to be a collector. And you certainly don’t have to know the difference between a giclée and an archival pigment print before deciding that you love an image.

If you see something that you would like to live with, that’s enough of a reason to start.

Ask me about it. That’s usually how it starts.