Gary uses only quality, lightfast pigments and fine, archival, Arches watercolor paper.
Over the days of the past weekend I have been asked about the permanence (life span) of a watercolor painting as opposed to that of an oil painting. Part of the questioning is due to the fact that oil paintings have long been considered the superior vehicle for permanent works. This may have been true in the past, even up to a few decades ago, but it is no longer true today. The advancements in watercolor pigment manufacturing over the past few years give artists of today a quality of paint that was never dreamed possible in the past. In the September 2005 issue of THE ARTISTS’ MAGAZINE, David Pyle states, “The range of pigments that can be used to replicate historical colors with great accuracy (along with breathtaking new colors) is revolutionary. Because the vast majority of these new miracle pigments come from the automobile industry (and therefore have to be highly lightfast to withstand sun exposure), they represent a great leap forward in permanence.” Comparable improvements can be found in the paper industry. Today quality watercolor paper is acid free and capable of lasting centuries with proper care.
I use only quality, lightfast pigments and fine, archival, Arches watercolor paper when I create a painting. The painting is then placed in an appropriate frame with acid free matting and backer-board to keep it free from dust and dirt. There is no reason why one of my paintings should not offer generations-long permanence comparable to that of an oil painting. Proper care dictates that any piece of fine art should be kept away from direct UV rays (this includes the older fluorescent tube lights as well as direct sunlight).
There are two methods of creating reproductions of fine art in use today. The older, traditional method is off-set lithography where hundreds or thousands of prints can be produced at one time allowing for a less expensive and frequently inferior print. The newer, more sophisticated process is called giclee (pronounced zhee-clay) where prints are produced one at a time with great color and texture accuracy.
With off-set lithography, a photographic image of the original work is created. The image is then separated into individual color plates corresponding to the color inks to be used in the final printing process. Each color is printed individually from a metal plate requiring any number of runs through a press with the printer trying to match the position of each layer of ink printed (not always successfully) to the layer of ink below (called registration). The quality and weight of the paper is limited by the capabilities of the press and the colors can vary depending on the quantity and quality of the ink used. The process is not unlike the process used to print newspapers and magazines.
| Offset Lithography |
Giclee Printing |
- Photograph of original work
- Colors printed separately
- Multiple passes from the same original
- Ink quality varies
- Print media is limited
|
- High resolution computer image original
- Digital image editing/correction
- Prints produced on at a time
- All colors printed in a single pass
- High quality inks
- Variety of print media (paper, canvas, etc.)
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With the giclee process, a computer image of the original work is created. The image created is very high resolution and is true to the original in terms of brushwork, texture and color. A technician then manipulates the computer file to get the appearance even closer to that of the original, with the correct color being the key element. Once the artist approves a proof, the image is stored as a file on the computer. Each print is then produced one at a time to guarantee accuracy. Unlike the off-set process, which requires multiple passes through the press with the hope of producing accurate colors, all of the colors of the giclee are produced using archival pigments with one pass allowing complete color, texture, and brushwork accuracy for each print. Furthermore, the printing can be done on the same type of surface (canvas, paper, etc.) as the original work of art.
When a giclee is placed next to the original, it is nearly impossible to tell which the original is and which the giclee is.
How permanent is a giclee? In recent years the ink industry has developed stable, light-fast, pigment inks for large format computers used to produce the giclee. At the same time, the paper industry has expanded and improved lines of paper to make them compatible with specialized, computer printers. This combination has made giclees viable as permanent pieces of art. You can purchase a giclee knowing that it will increase in value just as the original work of art.
