From Art to Art & Artist to Artist

By Sue Laubenstein, Courier Staff

             When abstract artist Jimmy McDonald began searching for a service to make museum quality reproductions of his original art, called giclees, his search led him on a wild goose chase into the heart of downtown Houston traversing freeways, traffic, and general inconvenience.  McDonald, whose primary business for over 25 years has been a Magnolia-based sign and design services company called JDM Designs Inc., eventually decided to purchase the state-of-the-art technology he now uses for both his sign and fine art businesses. The service is being offered to artists, photographers, and other creative individuals right here in Montgomery County.

            A giclee (pronounced zhee-clay) is a French word meaning “fine spray”. It is the finest method of art reproduction available today, a marriage of art and technology created by the spraying of an image onto a surface such as fine art paper, canvas, or even vinyl. Giclees enable art lovers an affordable option to expensive original art while increasing an artist’s saleable inventory. A giclee print can be made in a variety of sizes to suit the needs and pocketbook of prospective collectors. Original art giclees require the artist’s input and color approval on the “proof” before the edition is produced to ensure tone, depth and color accuracy. The finished print reflects every nuance of the original painting whether watercolor, acrylic, or oil and has gained wide acceptance from both artists and galleries.

            In addition to fine art reproduction, giclees can be made of treasured family photographs. Printing the photo onto fine art paper or even canvas can impart an heirloom quality. Some problems such as tears or red eye in the original photo can be corrected before printing; however, the quality of the giclee will only be as good as the original image from which it’s made.

            Wide format printing is also available to accommodate large photos and/or graphics suitable for banners, posters, or even billboards.

            McDonald uses the same media – paper, inks, and printer -- as the Chicago Museum of Fine Art.

            “If it’s good enough for Chicago Museum of Fine Art to print Monets, it’s good enough to print my work and other artists as well,” said McDonald.

            The giclee printing process involves first capturing the original image with a high quality digital scanner. The image is then loaded into a special computer program and color matched to the original, a process requiring a high level of skill -- perfectly suited to the discriminating eye of a professional artist. Next the image is printed using a high resolution printer onto the chosen substrate whether it be archival paper, canvas, fine art paper, vinyl, etc. Extremely light resistant and permanent ultra-chrome UV pigmented type inks are used to ensure the life of the giclee. The giclee is then finished with two coats of a protective UV resistant coating.

            “Printing technology has changed and allowed us to do things better. That’s what’s nice. Things are done better and easier and more user-friendly and we’re able to help others with their projects. From a commercial standpoint, people need signs and graphics. And even for artists -- this is the way they promote themselves as well -- and this is how individuals spread their joy with friends and family members.”        

            McDonald is currently printing for approximately thirty artists; some traveling from Houston, Sugarland, and even as far as Louisiana. Each art show McDonald exhibits in brings in new artists who want to increase their inventory with giclee prints of their original art.

            Prices for services and set-up fees include the one-time scanning fee, one-time color correction fee, and the printing itself which ranges in price depending upon the material the image is printed on, size, and number of copies.

            To McDonald, it’s all “a lot of fun.”

            “Life needs to be enjoyed and if you can copy a picture of grand kids or a wonderful painting, I like being a part of that. How many people do you know who have photos of their boyfriend or girlfriend? Making copies to share and spread all around is good. It’s fun. Continuing to share and enjoy things makes me happy,” said McDonald.

            For more information, call High Mountain Arts & Design, located at 14135 Stagecoach Road in Magnolia, at (281) 356-6131, or visit www.highmountainarts.com.

By Sue Laubenstein

Courier Staff