Ruth Basler Burr Giclees

Ruth Basler Burr

G_Lakeside Villiage.jpg (52075 bytes)
"Lakeside Village"

What is a Giclee?

A giclee is a new form of printing that allows all the nuances and beauty or a watercolor or oil to be reproduced so close to the original that it is hard to tell the difference. Giclee is a French word pronounced Zhee-Clay that means spray.

The giclee process uses high quality machines to deposit archival ink onto some form of media. Ruth uses the highest quality 300 lb. art paper or canvas. The technology provides incredible detail and brilliant color. The resolution (DPI or dots per inch) is actually higher than traditional lithography which results in crisp contrast with rich, intense color.

First the original is scanned digitally. Ruth always has hers scanned directly from the original instead of a transparency. The giclee process is used to reproduce the image on artist canvas or paper using pigment based indelible inks. This renders an amazingly smooth and consistent image true to the original painting, a superb quality fine art reproduction. The giclees are printed one at a time in several sizes to be determined by the artist. Ruth's editions are usually limited to 250.

Last, the white edges are removed so that each giclee of a watercolor on fine art paper may be floated just as Ruth frames her originals. The canvas giclees are cured for 24 hours then sprayed with a uv protecting gel with a high gloss which makes them waterproof and fade proof for 125 years These may then be embellished by the artist so that they resemble the texture on the original painting. Canvas giclees may be reversed printed on the sides and gallery wrapped to be displayed frameless without glass after they are stretched. They are usually shipped flat to be custom framed.

The giclee is the standard of the art industry and is wisely embraced for its astonishing quality by major museums, galleries, publishers, and artists. Many examples of giclee prints are bought and sold in auctions and may be found in museums and galleries such as New York City's Metropolitan Museum and Museum of modern art.

For giclees on canvas, an additional charge will be added for gallery wrap and embellishing. $25 for paintings up to size 24x24 and $ 50 for those larger.