Oil & Giclee on Canvas

Ivan Clarke's original paintings are sought after by a growing number of collectors from around the world. This, along with Ivan keeping many of his paintings for his private collection, has resulted in a scarcity of his works.

Some of his special works are available in small numbers as hand painted Oil & Giclee limited editions on canvas.

An Oil & Giclee painting is made by first capturing the original painting as a high resolution digital image, and then printing it using light-fast pigments on fine-art canvas. The picture is then hand painted by carefully replicating the brush strokes, making each painting unique. Because these paintings are done mainly to order, they are produced one at a time, and are usually available in a choice of sizes. They are finished by the artist signing and numbering each piece.

"Giclee" pronounced, "Zhee-clay", the French word known in the fine-Art world describing the advanced technology "to Spray pigment" resulting in the highest quality reproductions of Fine-Art available. Giclees have great advantages in beauty, quality and durability.

What makes an edition?

Ivan Clarke selects only a few of his originals, which are of special significance. The painting may be a work from the private family collection, an award winner, or a well-known feature work. These originals usually demand a higher price than normal and are seen to have particular investment potential. Most of Ivan's Oil on Giclee editions are kept to small numbers – between 20-150. This makes them highly sought after as collectibles which will appreciate in value. The hand written numbers in the corner of the painting indicates the total number of paintings re-touched, for example, 14/20 means it is the fourteenth painting produced of twenty.

Museum Quality

To Art lovers around the world, the Louvre in Paris represents the epitome of excellence. Imagine how surprised those patrons would be to know that among the works displayed are Giclee reproductions. According to EDC News, "The Louvre in Paris uses Giclee reproductions for displays of works that are held in the museum's cellars—works that would otherwise not be shown to the public."

Dozens of museums have mounted exhibitions or purchased Giclees for their permanent collections. These include The Metropolitan Museum (New York), the Guggenheim (New York), the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), the Philadelphia Museum, the Butler Institute (Youngstown, OH), the Corcoran (DC), the National Gallery for Women in the Arts (DC), the Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts (DC), the Walker Art Centre, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, the New York Public Library Print Collection, the High Museum (Atlanta), the California Museum of Photography, the National Museum of Mexico and the San Jose Museum, among others.

Creating Oil & Giclee paintings is a time consuming process. It first takes about an hour to produce the under-painting on an individual canvas. When this is completed the print is then hand painted by the artists brush at the studio. This enables the recreation of the brush strokes and the actual texture of the original painting. Finally it is hand signed numbered and varnished ready for framing.