Art Print Issues by Barney Davey

What is a Giclée? Summer Repost

Ed. note: I'm taking some time off for vacation. It's a good time to repost some of the most popular articles from the past. Here's one from April 2007 that gots lots of comments. Read it and you'll see why.

It can be a humorous adventure to go on Web sites where digital reproduction are sold under the Giclée moniker and read the vain attempts to explain: what the word means; its genesis; how to pronounce it; or to accurately describe the process of creating digital reproductions.

Poor desciptions and explanations are a detriment to true acceptance

The reality for the art industry is it really isn't a laughing matter. There literally must be thousands of poorly informed and worse written descriptions floating around cyberspace these days. Many with futile attempts to inform collectors and surfers what the heck is a giclée. The term has become as nondescript and amorphous as the word "print."  The more the word and its description gets mucked up, the more confusing the term becomes to the public and the less ability it has to be a powerful valuable descriptor.

The information to learn about the word and its genesis is easily available

There isn't enough space here to go into the history and meaning of the word. However, I do commend to you the following information and strongly suggest any who are truly interested in understanding what a digital print or giclée is to spend time with these links. They provide the best most accurate detailed history I've seen. It is from Harald Johnson, author of Mastering Digital Printing (Digital Process and Print). Johnson generously offers these excerpts on his Web site pulled from the above-mentioned book: What's in a Name: The True Story of "Giclée" and Digital, Fine Art Printing Comes of Age.

If there is a soapbox here, it comes from the frustration some artists and printers have with the loose use of giclée to represent digital fine art reproductions. When a term can be used to describe a homemade print coming off an Epson desktop printer based a low resolution digital photograph or worse, an image scanned from a garden variety photograph and also a meticulously produced digital print that might have taken hours just to setup the image capture and more hours to thoroughly manipulate the RIP software and printer calibrations to produce a masterful faithful reproduction on fine art paper or canvas, then the industry has a problem.

It's only taken a short time to marginalize the term

In a nutshell, the term "giclée" has become nearly as generic as Kleenex. Did you know that the words aspirin, thermos and fridge all started as a trademarked name and look at them now. Giclée itself has never been trademarked. But there are many companies now trying to incorporate it into a trademark, Tru Giclée, UltraGiclée and a handful of others are being bandied about as companies such as Epson attempt to get their brand into the process. News flash, these marketing maneuvers are not going to help the industry as a whole; collectors are never going to clamor for an UltraGiclee or any other trademarked process. They will continue to trust dealers and gallerists to guide them to purchases based on their interest in the artist and the art.

Another debate regarding digital printing is there are those who think it is bad for business for companies such as Epson and H-P to be exhibiting at shows such as ArtExpo. They believe it confounds the pubic, confuses artists and does nothing to elevate the process. Remember, the whole reason giclée got into the vernacular was an attempt to move away from techie terms like computer generated digital print. That sounds like something you can make at home whereas giclée has that hoity-toity je ne sais quoi quality to it.

Does the term serve your needs today?

I don't blame anyone for using the term giclée, but I also don't blame those artists and printers who are moving away from it either now that it has come full circle and no longer has the cachet of something special. To be honest, seeing pixellated digital prints from well known highly publicized artists at ArtExpo adds yet more negativity and cynicism around the giclée moniker.  That's another post, but anyone looking at this can see it is problematic for the business.

Back in the day long before the first digital print hit the market when Bill Humberg was editor and publisher of Decor magazine, there was terminology used to delineate a fine art print such as an etching, mezzotint, etc., from a reproduction. Graphics were used to describe high-end pieces designed as originals in the print medium of choice, i.e., serigraphs, linocuts and so forth. Prints was used to describe those pieces that were reproductions. At that time they were primarily offset lithography on paper. Even then you saw poster publishers using graphics in their company names, but at least there was an effort to bring order to the confusing array of terminology.

Lack of governance means its the wide open west when it comes to adopting standards

The problems with getting everyone in the industry to use standards for descriptions will never cease. There is no governing body, no real authority to monitor usage and make positive changes where necessary. Where we go from here is anybody's guess. As individuals you can help by becoming and staying informed about correct terminology, printing processes and the business of the art print market. If you can clearly articulate what is a giclée to a lay person, you will help yourself and the industry in the process. If you can suggest changes to someone using the term inappropriately, you will help. With the ease of access to voluminous information available to all consumers these days, it's more important than ever for all involved to be forthright and clear on what we are selling to the public. It's harder to fool them, although my recent posts on convicted felons Kristine Eubanks and husband Gerald Sullivan and cruise ship art auctions belies that notion.

If you have followed my musings, you know I champion having open editions on giclées unless the editions are truly limited to very small sizes such as 95. Consumers realize it's easy to run off more copies once an image is digitized. With open editions, there is never the worry that more than the stated edition size was sold...it is a non-issue. To me, the issue ought to be selling the intrinsic value of the art on the paper or canvas without having to resort to a limited edition marketing gimmick.

The need and desire for limited editions will never completely pale

There will always be a place for limited editions, I just believe the giclée market is not the right place for them. Some limited edition prints might sell well for years if they were open. Imagine how much money is left on the table when something like that happens. Sure an artist can continue to paint more like before, but there is magic with some pieces that can't be recaptured. Often neither artist or publisher can say with authority that a certain piece will get legs and sell through the roof. But experienced ones know it happens and they can count on it, but can't tell you why. Limited edition giclées shut the door on such possibilities.

See you soon!

If you want to follow the comments follow this link: http://www.artprintissues.com/2007/04/what_is_a_gicle.html

It can be a humorous adventure to go on Web sites where digital reproduction are sold under the Giclée moniker and read the vain attempts to explain: what the word means; its genesis; how to pronounce it; or to accurately describe the process of creating digital reproductions.

Poor desciptions and explanations are a detriment to true acceptance

The reality for the art industry is it really isn't a laughing matter. There literally must be thousands of poorly informed and worse written descriptions floating around cyberspace these days. Many with futile attempts to inform collectors and surfers what the heck is a giclée. The term has become as nondescript and amorphous as the word "print."  The more the word and its description gets mucked up, the more confusing the term becomes to the public and the less ability it has to be a powerful valuable descriptor.

The information to learn about the word and its genesis is easily available

There isn't enough space here to go into the history and meaning of the word. However, I do commend to you the following information and strongly suggest any who are truly interested in understanding what a digital print or giclée is to spend time with these links. They provide the best most accurate detailed history I've seen. It is from Harald Johnson, author of Mastering Digital Printing (Digital Process and Print). Johnson generously offers these excerpts on his Web site pulled from the above-mentioned book: What's in a Name: The True Story of "Giclée" and Digital, Fine Art Printing Comes of Age.

If there is a soapbox here, it comes from the frustration some artists and printers have with the loose use of giclée to represent digital fine art reproductions. When a term can be used to describe a homemade print coming off an Epson desktop printer based a low resolution digital photograph or worse, an image scanned from a garden variety photograph and also a meticulously produced digital print that might have taken hours just to setup the image capture and more hours to thoroughly manipulate the RIP software and printer calibrations to produce a masterful faithful reproduction on fine art paper or canvas, then the industry has a problem.

It's only taken a short time to marginalize the term

In a nutshell, the term "giclée" has become nearly as generic as Kleenex. Did you know that the words aspirin, thermos and fridge all started as a trademarked name and look at them now. Giclée itself has never been trademarked. But there are many companies now trying to incorporate it into a trademark, Tru Giclée, UltraGiclée and a handful of others are being bandied about as companies such as Epson attempt to get their brand into the process. News flash, these marketing maneuvers are not going to help the industry as a whole; collectors are never going to clamor for an UltraGiclee or any other trademarked process. They will continue to trust dealers and gallerists to guide them to purchases based on their interest in the artist and the art.

Another debate regarding digital printing is there are those who think it is bad for business for companies such as Epson and H-P to be exhibiting at shows such as ArtExpo. They believe it confounds the pubic, confuses artists and does nothing to elevate the process. Remember, the whole reason giclée got into the vernacular was an attempt to move away from techie terms like computer generated digital print. That sounds like something you can make at home whereas giclée has that hoity-toity je ne sais quoi quality to it.

Does the term serve your needs today?

I don't blame anyone for using the term giclée, but I also don't blame those artists and printers who are moving away from it either now that it has come full circle and no longer has the cachet of something special. To be honest, seeing pixellated digital prints from well known highly publicized artists at ArtExpo adds yet more negativity and cynicism around the giclée moniker.  That's another post, but anyone looking at this can see it is problematic for the business.

Back in the day long before the first digital print hit the market when Bill Humberg was editor and publisher of Decor magazine, there was terminology used to delineate a fine art print such as an etching, mezzotint, etc., from a reproduction. Graphics were used to describe high-end pieces designed as originals in the print medium of choice, i.e., serigraphs, linocuts and so forth. Prints was used to describe those pieces that were reproductions. At that time they were primarily offset lithography on paper. Even then you saw poster publishers using graphics in their company names, but at least there was an effort to bring order to the confusing array of terminology.

Lack of governance means its the wide open west when it comes to adopting standards

The problems with getting everyone in the industry to use standards for descriptions will never cease. There is no governing body, no real authority to monitor usage and make positive changes where necessary. Where we go from here is anybody's guess. As individuals you can help by becoming and staying informed about correct terminology, printing processes and the business of the art print market. If you can clearly articulate what is a giclée to a lay person, you will help yourself and the industry in the process. If you can suggest changes to someone using the term inappropriately, you will help. With the ease of access to voluminous information available to all consumers these days, it's more important than ever for all involved to be forthright and clear on what we are selling to the public. It's harder to fool them, although my recent posts on convicted felons Kristine Eubanks and husband Gerald Sullivan and cruise ship art auctions belies that notion.

If you have followed my musings, you know I champion having open editions on giclées unless the editions are truly limited to very small sizes such as 95. Consumers realize it's easy to run off more copies once an image is digitized. With open editions, there is never the worry that more than the stated edition size was sold...it is a non-issue. To me, the issue ought to be selling the intrinsic value of the art on the paper or canvas without having to resort to a limited edition marketing gimmick.

The need and desire for limited editions will never completely pale

There will always be a place for limited editions, I just believe the giclée market is not the right place for them. Some limited edition prints might sell well for years if they were open. Imagine how much money is left on the table when something like that happens. Sure an artist can continue to paint more like before, but there is magic with some pieces that can't be recaptured. Often neither artist or publisher can say with authority that a certain piece will get legs and sell through the roof. But experienced ones know it happens and they can count on it, but can't tell you why. Limited edition giclées shut the door on such possibilities.

See you soon!

If you want to follow the comments follow this link: http://www.artprintissues.com/2007/04/what_is_a_gicle.html

It can be a humorous adventure to go on Web sites where digital reproduction are sold under the Giclée moniker and read the vain attempts to explain: what the word means; its genesis; how to pronounce it; or to accurately describe the process of creating digital reproductions.

Poor desciptions and explanations are a detriment to true acceptance

The reality for the art industry is it really isn't a laughing matter. There literally must be thousands of poorly informed and worse written descriptions floating around cyberspace these days. Many with futile attempts to inform collectors and surfers what the heck is a giclée. The term has become as nondescript and amorphous as the word "print."  The more the word and its description gets mucked up, the more confusing the term becomes to the public and the less ability it has to be a powerful valuable descriptor.

The information to learn about the word and its genesis is easily available

There isn't enough space here to go into the history and meaning of the word. However, I do commend to you the following information and strongly suggest any who are truly interested in understanding what a digital print or giclée is to spend time with these links. They provide the best most accurate detailed history I've seen. It is from Harald Johnson, author of Mastering Digital Printing (Digital Process and Print). Johnson generously offers these excerpts on his Web site pulled from the above-mentioned book: What's in a Name: The True Story of "Giclée" and Digital, Fine Art Printing Comes of Age.

If there is a soapbox here, it comes from the frustration some artists and printers have with the loose use of giclée to represent digital fine art reproductions. When a term can be used to describe a homemade print coming off an Epson desktop printer based a low resolution digital photograph or worse, an image scanned from a garden variety photograph and also a meticulously produced digital print that might have taken hours just to setup the image capture and more hours to thoroughly manipulate the RIP software and printer calibrations to produce a masterful faithful reproduction on fine art paper or canvas, then the industry has a problem.

It's only taken a short time to marginalize the term

In a nutshell, the term "giclée" has become nearly as generic as Kleenex. Did you know that the words aspirin, thermos and fridge all started as a trademarked name and look at them now. Giclée itself has never been trademarked. But there are many companies now trying to incorporate it into a trademark, Tru Giclée, UltraGiclée and a handful of others are being bandied about as companies such as Epson attempt to get their brand into the process. News flash, these marketing maneuvers are not going to help the industry as a whole; collectors are never going to clamor for an UltraGiclee or any other trademarked process. They will continue to trust dealers and gallerists to guide them to purchases based on their interest in the artist and the art.

Another debate regarding digital printing is there are those who think it is bad for business for companies such as Epson and H-P to be exhibiting at shows such as ArtExpo. They believe it confounds the pubic, confuses artists and does nothing to elevate the process. Remember, the whole reason giclée got into the vernacular was an attempt to move away from techie terms like computer generated digital print. That sounds like something you can make at home whereas giclée has that hoity-toity je ne sais quoi quality to it.

Does the term serve your needs today?

I don't blame anyone for using the term giclée, but I also don't blame those artists and printers who are moving away from it either now that it has come full circle and no longer has the cachet of something special. To be honest, seeing pixellated digital prints from well known highly publicized artists at ArtExpo adds yet more negativity and cynicism around the giclée moniker.  That's another post, but anyone looking at this can see it is problematic for the business.

Back in the day long before the first digital print hit the market when Bill Humberg was editor and publisher of Decor magazine, there was terminology used to delineate a fine art print such as an etching, mezzotint, etc., from a reproduction. Graphics were used to describe high-end pieces designed as originals in the print medium of choice, i.e., serigraphs, linocuts and so forth. Prints was used to describe those pieces that were reproductions. At that time they were primarily offset lithography on paper. Even then you saw poster publishers using graphics in their company names, but at least there was an effort to bring order to the confusing array of terminology.

Lack of governance means its the wide open west when it comes to adopting standards

The problems with getting everyone in the industry to use standards for descriptions will never cease. There is no governing body, no real authority to monitor usage and make positive changes where necessary. Where we go from here is anybody's guess. As individuals you can help by becoming and staying informed about correct terminology, printing processes and the business of the art print market. If you can clearly articulate what is a giclée to a lay person, you will help yourself and the industry in the process. If you can suggest changes to someone using the term inappropriately, you will help. With the ease of access to voluminous information available to all consumers these days, it's more important than ever for all involved to be forthright and clear on what we are selling to the public. It's harder to fool them, although my recent posts on convicted felons Kristine Eubanks and husband Gerald Sullivan and cruise ship art auctions belies that notion.

If you have followed my musings, you know I champion having open editions on giclées unless the editions are truly limited to very small sizes such as 95. Consumers realize it's easy to run off more copies once an image is digitized. With open editions, there is never the worry that more than the stated edition size was sold...it is a non-issue. To me, the issue ought to be selling the intrinsic value of the art on the paper or canvas without having to resort to a limited edition marketing gimmick.

The need and desire for limited editions will never completely pale

There will always be a place for limited editions, I just believe the giclée market is not the right place for them. Some limited edition prints might sell well for years if they were open. Imagine how much money is left on the table when something like that happens. Sure an artist can continue to paint more like before, but there is magic with some pieces that can't be recaptured. Often neither artist or publisher can say with authority that a certain piece will get legs and sell through the roof. But experienced ones know it happens and they can count on it, but can't tell you why. Limited edition giclées shut the door on such possibilities.

See you soon!

If you want to follow the comments follow this link: http://www.artprintissues.com/2007/04/what_is_a_gicle.html

Making Fine Art Prints - Perspective from a Photographer

Whether you are making digital fine art prints from photographs shot with the intention of recreating them as prints, photographs or scans of original 2D flat art, or creating something wholly digital through the array of tools for such purposes, you still need a way to get the product of your creativity on some substrate, usually paper or canvas.

There are different paths depending on where you start in the creative process. For photographers, it's going to be different from painters. This post is to alert you to a series of blog posts on fine art printing from Brian Auer, a San Diego based photographer. This description is taken from his website:

Brian Auer is a photography enthusiast from San Diego, California. He's also the guy behind the Epic Edits Weblog. As a hobbyist photographer since 2003, his passion has been to constantly improve his photography skill set, to share his own knowledge with others, and to become an integral part of the photographic community.

Brian is proof positive that one turned on person can make a difference. His Feedburner subscriber shows nearly 6,500 other enthusiasts share his passion for photography. To get that many subscribers, it takes more than passion. One has to impart knowledge, wisdom and insight in such a way that others want to tap into it. He serves a great role model for anyone looking to build a following, a Tribe, as Seth Godin accurately calls them in his bestselling book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.

To give his readers easily digestible amounts of information, Brian has broken his article on Making Fine Art Prints into four parts. I am sure you will find it worth the time to review his thoughts on this subject. While you are on his site, check out the rest of what he offers his readers. There is a reason he has a large following.

While what he offers in the way of advice and insight is solid, it won't apply across the board to every artist. Nevertheless, there is useful information in his series of posts on making fine art prints. Perhaps just as importantly, there is much to be gained from studying how an self-proclaimed amateur photographer can carve out a meaningful place against the Internet's constantly changing means of putting together like minded folks. Bravo to Brian!

Is an On-site Print-on-demand Giclee Printer in your Future?

Living in the future, none of this has happened yet - Bruce Springsteen

Lightning Source International is the printer of my book, How to Profit from the Art Print Market. The company does a great job of making it widely available to booksellers both online and traditional with its print-on-demand technology. I can order one or 100 at great prices, but I don't bother with fulfillment. It's easier to let retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble handle it for me. Today, I got what could be a glimpse of the future for the art print market. It's the Expresso Book Machine.

Brick and mortar retailers of all kinds are now going to be able to offer high-quality books delivered immediately on site. This development has interesting and potentially widespread implications for retailers. Can you imagine buying your favorite book while waiting for your Caffe Latte at your favorite coffee shop? I can.

Can Giclee prints delivered on demand be available in retail stores be far off?

With the constant evolution of digital printmaking capabilities, I imagine it is only time before Epson or HP, or one of their many competitors comes along with a plan to put on-site on-demand digital fine art prints in local retail stores. If a company such as Allposters.com, which along with its sister site, Art.com are the largest retailers of art prints worldwide decide this is a market it wants to be in, it could bring yet another game changing development to the art print market. Granted, the print speed for making digital prints, aka giclees, is nowhere near the speed of making a book as shown in the video here. But, quality and speed continue increase dramatically.

Should such technology come along for the art print market, it wouldn't necessarily be just to the advantage of the big retailers like Art.com. I think it could be a way for local artists, perhaps art guilds, to level the playing field. As threatening such a development could be to established fine art giclee printers, it could also be an opportunity for them to create new markets for themselves as well. This is high concept thinking. There would be a multitude of details before an idea like would come to fruition.

Nevertheless, as much as things have changed in the business over the past decade, I think we are just beginning to understand the dramatic developments of the way visual artists will get their work to market in years to come. Stay tuned, the future is just around the corner. It's only promise is it will not be as we know things now and opportunities will abound for those who embrace the changes.

P.S. The deadline to register to win a Milton Glaser signed poster is May 31. Here is the scoop:

Milton Glaser Documentary Premiers May 22: You can win a signed poster promoting it or his book! ' http://bit.ly/bBxor 

The Digital Painter - Marilyn Sholin's Lasting Impression

Congratulations to Marilyn Sholin for the very successful launch of her new book, The Art of Digital Photo Painting: Using Popular Software to Create Masterpieces (A Lark Photography Book) . It's been a top seller in several Amazon categories since publication. In the early going, her publisher struggled to keep up with the strong demand for her book.

Every now and then someone comes along who casts a long shadow over some aspect of their chosen field. When it comes to making contributions to digital painting, Marilyn Sholin is such a person. She is an acknowledged master of the Corel Painter program who shares her talent, techniques and insights with thousands of digital artists and photographers worldwide.

As with many digital painters, Marilyn's path began with a professional career as a photographer. In her case, she has worked for more than 25 years to become a highly accomplished and sought after portrait photographer. Those who know Marilyn recognize a drive and indefatigable spirit that pushes her to take on new and interesting challenges. Those high achiever attributes undoubtedly are behind her becoming an expert user and teacher of the Corel Painter program and other digital imaging tools as well.

Marilyn's expertise has led her into authoring books and marketing CDs; all with the aim of helping others grow their talents in digital painting. She is also the founder of the Digital Painting Forum. It boasts more than 2100 members who have shared nearly 85,000 posts. What is truly unique is this is a closed paid forum. In an age where forums offering free memberships spring up like wildflowers in warm weather after abundant rain, it is refreshing to see and a confirmation of Marilyn's leadership and the dedication of its membership that the Digital Painting Forum stays strong and viable with its paid membership program.

Marilyn teaches classes around the country and overseas as well. If you are interested in learning more about digital painting, or want to advance your skills, you should check out her schedule of classes she offers from her home studio in beautiful Asheville, NC. I visited there last summer and spent some time with Marilyn. It was an inspiring trip on numerous levels. You can get information on all her upcoming events here. If digital painting intrigues you, as it has so many others, you won't find a better resource to improve your skills and advance your learning than through the stellar efforts of Marilyn Sholin.

Art Is What You Make It

There is no argument we are cursed to live in interesting times. Events of the past few weeks have made things too interesting by far for most of us. Let's hope the last minute maneuvering to save the US economy works. Too bad most of us are clueless as to how this happened.

On a wing and a prayer our economy flies now

We all understand home prices jumped to unheard heights when the interest rate was dropped down to record lows and stayed there for the longest time. In a nutshell, supposedly smart people who should have cared and known better turned out to be average people with above average greed.

Homeowners were sucked in along the way as many succumbed to the Pied Piper's tune telling them prices would not go down and they could use the equity in their home like a free ATM machine. It was a glorious party, but now the hangover and reality have set in with a monstrous financial headache. It's not that simple, but the essence is there and applies to the highest gilt-edged boardrooms as well as modest two bedroom bungalows.

Can these really be the best of times?

Now, if you are not so depressed about the undoing of our national financial underpinnings, you might be wondering how you can sell some art. I have been saying in workshops, consulting sessions and private conversations for some time that these interesting times are arguably the best of times for visual artists. How so you say? Simply, there are more ways to create your art and more ways to get your art to market than any previous time.

You are not relegated to choosing between oil and acrylics and paper or canvas. You might be start your creative process with the Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camerafor digital photography to capture an image and manipulate it in Photoshop. Or to perhaps learn exciting techniques for making digital imagery in Painter. If you choose the latter, you'd be wise to partake of the tremendous knowledge from Masters such as Marilyn Sholin. You might be digitally painting on the fabulous Wacom Cintiq 21UX 21.3" Tablet with Interactive Pen. 

Are you working in convergence media?

If you are doing these things, I think you are creating something I call convergence media. Like mixed media, the term it borrows the name from, it requires pulling together in unique fashion an artistic vision using a variety of techniques, tools and products to create the final image. Then again, you may be putting paint on canvas as always and just using technology to do image capture to print giclees. And, there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Just a few short years ago, you would have been doing none of this. Nor would you have a blog, or an online presence with your own Website, not mention the many worthy sites that will help you market your work. In short, right now, you have more opportunity to control how your art is made and more unique ways to find collectors than before.

These are the best of times to release all your creativity

If you have a spirit of adventure and a streak of creativity, you ought to be thinking of how you can use this new technology to create new ways to make and display your art. Why do vehicle graphics have to always be a movable billboard. Why can't they also be a piece of movable art? Do you have the resources, vision and chutzpah to graphic wrap something larger than a Hertz bus? Challenge yourself to go beyond your traditional thinking. How can you use your creativity to create something unique memorable and fantastic? If you rise to the challenge and answer that question and succeed with your vision, you are certain to have your ticket punched for the fast lane to awareness for yourself and your art.

Maybe your vision, budget or stomach for adventure is more mundane. Why not think about using wood, mylar, plastic or other substrates to create art. Here's an idea; you could work with a custom furniture maker to create art that is part of the furniture! The only limit is your imagination being throttled by yourself.

Below is an example of how Dutch photographer Suseela Gorter is using technology to create new ways to have her work displayed and appreciated.

Blooming Window Art - Flat Flowers Stickers (GALLERY)

(TREND HUNTER) These Flat Flowers stickers are the work of Dutch photographer Suseela Gorter. Flat flowers are photographs of flowers in a vase printed on a clear and static material. You simply stick the Flat Flowers… [More]

Start your own creative wheel turning. Let your mind wander. Daydreaming is essential to creative thinking. Write things down as you think of them. Use The Brain to capture and connect your thoughts. You have the capacity to do something unique. If you challenge yourself and respond, good things are bound to ensue.

Making Art & Money in the Digital World - Meet Me in Atlanta

I'm honored to be giving a presentation titled Making Art & Money in the Digital World at the Digital Arts Studio in Atlanta next month. The company is an industry leading premier digital printmaker. The talk is slated for Wednesday, August 13 at 6:30 pm at company headquarters. The address is: 1082 Huff Rd NW, Atlanta, Georgia  Phone: 404-352-9779 Toll-free: 866-352-9779. Space is limited. RSVP via email by August 8.

Here is a synopsis:

Any artist wishing to improve their business will benefit from attending. In a fast-paced hour, you will discover new perspectives on art marketing for visual artists and photographers. Q & A to follow.

Tips on marketing, advertising, publicity, blogging, Web sites, social marketing and gallery alternatives will be provided. Artists will learn unique ways to market themselves and about attributes shared by successful artists. An extensive resource list will be included with the presentation handout.

The presentation will shed light on the rapid changes in traditional art print market and what it means to visual artists and photographers. You will gain insight to help decide to self-publish, seek a publisher or do both. The talk will include the attributes on every art publisher's dream artist list and the merits and pitfalls of both self-publishing and working with a publisher.

A discussion will be provided on how visual artists and photographers can use the print market and digital printing to:

•    Grow awareness for themselves and their art
•    Increase sales
•    Diversify their price points and consumer mix

I'm looking forward to it and promise to do my best to make it fun, informative and worth your time!  

Wired Art Marketing Idea

About a year ago, Wired, a leading tech publication, offered its readers, anyone actually, the chance to create their own personalized cover, like the one pictured here, in a promotion sponsored by Xerox.

Good Ideas Never Go Away

Then as now, I thought it was a great idea. But, I put it away in lieu of other blog post concepts. It's stayed with me and I present it to you today as a way to stimulate your own thoughts on how you might think of creative ways to interact with your collectors and prospects.

The promotion was done as a creative way to show off the Xerox XMPie™ product line, which it had acquired in 2006. Specifically, it allows users to implement its Image Personalization tool to create the personalized headline and illustrate the versatility and ease-of-use of the program. I'm not sure what the price is for the program. It doesn't say on the product's Website. For those of you who own Adobe Creative Suite 2 or 3, you can download a free 30 day trial.

Employ Creative Borrowing to Invent Your Personalized Promotion Ideas

What's more important than the technology to readers of this blog is the concept behind the use of the technology. That is, borrowing on the concept to help you use whatever means, technology or otherwise, available to you, get in gear to think how to personalize your art for your collectors is what is important.

Giclées Are Just One Way to Personalize

The giclée process with its variable size capabilities is just one way you can personalize art for your collectors. I think this alone is underutilized as a way to truly serve customers' specific needs. Substrates are another way to personalize your work. New products are frequently being announced. These are but two examples of how technology can be used to personalize art. Can you imagine collectors willing to pay a nice premium for something personalized for them? I can.

Personalizing on a Small Scale Is an Advantage

If you are able to use the XMPie program to let your collectors and prospects have fun with your art and create a personalized printable product like the one pictured here, wouldn't that be way cool? How much good will, promotion and publcity you can generate with an ideal like this? In the right hands, the possibilities offer great promise on multiple levels.

Dont' Sweat the Small Stuff

Don't stress if you lack the tools or budget to use this program. The idea behind how to reach and influence your customers is the important thing. With a bit of creativity, you can come up with your own unique ways to get personal with those important to your career.

Drawing the Line on Reproductions

Technology for better and worse...sometimes a little of both

For as long as the ability to reproduce art has been available, there have been those who have sought to use it for legitimate purposes, and unfortunately also for ill-gotten gain. There were numerous reports last month about a ring of crooks busted for selling $7 million in fake Picasso, Miro, Dali and Chagall prints, including a post here. These details come nearly on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the conviction of Kristine Eubanks and her husband, Gerald Sullivan. That pair had been charged with selling $20 million in bogus art prints, many of which were made in their own professional giclée printmaker studio.

(This content is republished from the April 3, 2008 Absolute Arts blog where I am a guest blogger and where you will find an interesting running commentary on it.)

Personally, I quite enjoy that visual artists can reproduce their work and thus create a secondary cash flow from it. It gives them another price point and allows them to introduce their work to many more collectors as well. Seeing cases of fraud, as mentioned above, concerns me visual artists creating legitimate reproductions can sometimes find themselves under unwanted unnecessary scrutiny. As if making a go of it for most artists was not already difficult enough.

What Is Art?

Part of the romantic allure of the art business – yes folks, it is a business – is it is kind of Wild West when it comes to what one wants to do and what one wants to call it. By golly, the debate over “What is art?” rages on and has never really been satisfied. Surely, the folks at the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) can attest from regularly coming under siege for funding controversial works can tell you there is a wide range of sentiment regarding the question of “What is art?”

So, if we can’t decide on what is art, is there any chance we can decide on what is a print? The short and correct answer is no. The mixed use of terms in the business creates confusion that leads to anxiety and distrust.

What Is Investment Art? Can Giclées Be Considered Investment Art?

For many, buying art is more intriguing because one can also hope it may appreciate in time. Ask any of those folks taking part in the $200 million dollar class action suit against the Park West Galleries for its cruise ship art auction tactics. You can bet all bought with the idea of getting a great deal. Unfortunately for them it was only after being shorn did they realize they overpaid for art. It is the same mentality and likely the same herd, only on terra firma, that were taken in by the aforementioned couple of Eubanks and Sullivan who foisted their fraudulent works on their “Fine Art Treasures” cable TV show. In fairness, savvy buyers through the centuries have capitalized on buying undervalued art...and still do today. Tennis great, John McEnroe, says he's made more money in the art market than on the court.

We Should Rethink Limiting Digital Prints

I have for years championed the idea of abandoning limited editions for giclées. In fact, I blogged nearly three years ago on Absolute Arts with a post titled “Limiting Success” about it as well as on my own Art Print Issues blog. It just doesn't’t make sense to me for a variety of reasons; including it begs the question of why limit that which can endlessly be reproduced perfectly or as improvements come along all the better.

Limited editions also nicely lend themselves to some of the schemes mentioned here. I contend if the art is good enough, people will pay a fair price for it knowing it is in unlimited supply, which might help thwart some phony print schemes. Do I care if a recording artist sells millions of copies? Why should I care how many a visual artist will sell? If I want truly intrinsic value from a limited supply, I will pony up for an original, which is why many galleries have left the print/giclée market. They are tired of romancing the artist to a prospective collector only to lose the sale via the Internet when the buyer shops it. Selling originals avoids this problem, but it puts a kink in an artist's ability to leverage his or her work in the print market, which creates just another problem.

Regardless of what I have had to say, the fine art digital reproduction limited edition business remains strong, if not as vibrant as in its glory days. But then, you can say that about all kinds of businesses these days struggling to figure out how to survive in challenging changing times. Today, you can find many artists raking in big bucks selling limited editions in all manner of limited edition configurations. And, their galleries and they are not about to abandon a successful situation. Who can blame them? I merely argue they are leaving money on the table in the long haul by limiting editions.

How much did Greenwich Workshop & Bev Doolittle leave on the table?

Bev Doolittle's first giclées sold out nearly 4,000 pieces in a short time. Could she have sold more and still be selling them if they were merely numbered, but not limited? I contend yes. The early low numbers would ultimately have collectible value if the art is truly appreciable and not being Ponzied up by a limited edition marketing scheme. In Doolittle's case, I think the art would stand up to being open and sell well for years making he and her publisher more money with more happy collectors in the program as well.

A great image might sell well for years just as the back catalog of recording artists do. These steady streams of income could make a striking financial difference for popular artists and their families. Some, like the gifted watercolor artist, Steve Hanks, have retired huge editions on paper and are now releasing the images on canvas. I think Hanks would have never had to quit selling his work if the editions were they open and sequentially numbered because the work is enormously popular, timeless, compelling, representational and surreal at once. Instead, he’s had to resort to putting his watercolor work on canvas, which hardly reproduces as faithfully as his editions on paper.

Someone commented on my blog recently that giclées cannot be considered limited editions unless they are all produced at one time. The contention is they are a limited series instead. Once again, an interesting arguable take that further muddies the waters and heightens the desire for a ruling body to take hold.

Dead Artist's Estates Are Still Cranking Out Editions - So Are the Crooks - Who is Gary Arseneau?

To further stir the pot, there are many dead artists whose estates continue to print reproductions of their work. This, of course has been going on for years with the big names like Dali, Picasso, Miro and Chagall. While long gone, these artists remain in the news for the sale of both legitimate and fake reproductions of their work. Now along comes Gary Arseneau, he is a self-styled independent scholar, an artist, printmaker of original lithographs and a blogger. He is also the self-published author of books such as The Monument to the Victor Hugo Deception.

We ought to be asking, “Who is Gary Arseneau?” Is he a gadfly, or a crusader tilting in the wind trying to stem the tide of fake reproductions? You can only decide by spending time on his blog where he outlines in great detail his argument that the works of Rodin, Degas, Matisse, Duchamp and even Dr. Seuss that are being reproduced by their estates and heirs are fakes. He makes a heck of an interesting argument. Certainly, if you care about reproductions, buy them, produce or market them, you owe it to yourself to study his findings, read his arguments and come up with your own conclusions.

Is Having a Set of Enforcable Understandable Standards Too Much to Hope For?

Regardless of your personal opinion, the can of worms opened by Mr. Arseneau hastens the idea that establishing and enforcing true standards in the art world would be helpful. It is a crazy notion, I agree, but until a line is drawn on reproductions, the visual arts community will carry the burden of proving itself beyond reproach each time art of any value goes to market.

Artists Who Establish Authenticity and Transparency in Their Business Practices Will Win

As the world shrinks due to instant information and communication, being authentic and transparent becomes imperative. For those artists who find a way to embrace authenticity and transparency in how they create multiples or reproductions of their popular work and manage and market their business, there is ample reward awaiting them and their rightful heirs.

David Byrne's Business Strategies for Artists

David Byrne is perhaps best known as the front man and driving force for one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, The Talking Heads. A quick look at his Web site reveals a multi-talented artist with interests and success in music, art, books, theater, performance and film. In his erudite manner, Byrne penned a concise article for the December issue of Wired magazine. 

The article is titled, David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars. Whether you have a passing interest in how the music business is changing, or an abiding interest in how the models he discusses might affect you as a visual artist, I commend it to you. As a bonus, you can hear a track from a recent recording and other recordings of conversations and thoughts from him on this topic.

The #7 point on my recent post, Ten Points to Ponder for Your Art Marketing Plans is:

If you haven't already, start making plans to set up your own distribution. This could be online sales, alternative spaces or other inventive ways you can conceive to get directly to new collectors. The future success for many artists depends on their ability to deliver directly to their customers. The sooner you comprehend and act on this concept, the better off you'll be later on.

I hope you took that thought seriously. There are opportunities opening up with more on the way, But you have to have your head up to see and figure out how to capitalize on them. There are direct correlations between what is happening in the music business and with the distribution of art in the print business. The distribution breakdown has not come as far and galleries are still more important to visual artists than record stores have become to musicians. Nevertheless, the changes wrought by the intertwined evolution of the Internet and print-on-demand technology are significant. Galleries are abandoning the print market because of the commoditizaion of the giclee process and the proliferation of prints available online. Despite monumental changes, we are still in a nascent state of evolution in how visual art is sold as reproductions. And, regardless of change, reproductions, or prints if you will, are still the best way for most artists to gain financially from their creativity.

Over the past decade, we have seen the rise of the giclee as an important exciting development that overcame initial resistance because of its techno-component and colorfast issues, to go on and become the dominant form of printing for artists in the limited edition print market. It's now gone so far that I posed the question in a post last year titled, Is Giclee Passe? It is a legitimate question to raise now that we have seen the arrival of faster and less expensive equipment with the market evolving around the development.

Giclees are made by the boatload in Asian countries just like cheap oils are these days and with very good quality to boot. What was once a pricey commodity because it was rare and expensive to make has become something that is easy and inexpensive to make. Basically, digital printing capabilities are within the grasp of just about any artist interested in producing his or her own prints. As the printing prices go down and printing speeds have gone up, the artist's ability to price garden variety giclees at premium prices is evaporating.

The rise of open edition online one-stop marketing and fulfillment operations such as Image Kind, Red Bubble and Art.com's Artist Rising, and even Cafe Press to name a few, have made it very easy for any visual artist to sell their work online. Sites such as these are wonderful and freeing for many artists. But, their development further commoditizes the giclee process. it means those visual artists with a following and a vision or desire to grow a collector base are looking for new ways, or should be, to separate themselves from the masses. It's why, in part, I have lobbied for stopping limited editions of giclees for most artists. If you have some ideas on where this is going, I invite you to share them with this audience. I will over the coming weeks weigh in with my thoughts and research on how the market is evolving and where the pitfalls and opportunities might be.

Barney Davey Featured in Great Output Magazine

I was honored to be invited for a Q & A interview with Eileen Fritsch, the editor of Great Output magazine. It is the cover story for the July/August issue. Although I primarily work with painters, I've lately found many photographers and convergent media artists interested in learning the nuts and bolts of the fine art print reproduction market. This feature story is an example of the growing interest in developing a following from photographers in the art print market and art marketing, primarily in the form of giclees.

Here's the description provided on the publication's Website:

GREAT OUTPUT is our bi-monthly printed publication for photographers who want to know more about how to print, finish, display, and sell digital images. Eileen Fritsch continues her leadership role in compiling and editing newsworthy and commentary content that has, over the last three years, earned a quality reputation and built a loyal following.