Featured Artist: Laurie Near

Laurie Near in her Belleville, Ontario studio

One of the joys of art reproduction is the opportunity to spend significant time with a work of art. Photographing a painting, adjusting the image on the computer, and making test prints, cannot help but change one's relationship to the art. Paintings can obviously have an impact the first time they are viewed; with some images that impact continues to grow as one works with the image. This is a rewarding experience when it occurs.

Satori #30

One artist, Laurie Near, consistently creates art that grows in its impact as I work with it. Laurie's huge canvases depict the natural world in a way that resonates with something inside oneself. I do not understand how this works but I know that it does. Physically, these paintings have many layers separated by glaze. Viewing the work from varying angles or with different lighting reveals details not otherwise obvious. And with each new perspective the impact of the work changes.

Satori #47

Laurie's work speaks of solitude, nature, contemplation, essence. There is a Zen-like simplicity shining through the layers of complexity. Life is simple but there are many ways to view it. She says in her own artist statement, “I am most inspired by writings, music and artworks which evoke a sense of connection and timelessness.” Perhaps this explains the dramatic effect of these paintings. They tap into our “sense of connection and timelessness.”

I have been working with Laurie for four years and have never failed to be moved by her work. I enjoy the moods, the states of mind, these paintings invoke. I look forward to the next collection of paintings.

Introducing the McFee Design Newsletter

Within the next week, McFee Design will be sending out (via email) the first issue of the McFee Design Newsletter.

Each issue of the newsletter will feature a different topic related to the business of art reproduction and large format gicleé printing. On a frequent basis, an artist client of McFee Design will be spotlighted.

Each newsletter issue will be linked to an article on this blog where you will find additional information about the topic or artist featured in the Newsletter. Additional information may be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mcfeedesign .

If you are interested in receiving the Newsletter, please click on the Join Mailing List tab above and fill out the form. 

We will be featuring Belleville artist, Laurie Near, in an upcoming post and in our newsletter.

Satori #46 by Laurie Near

Giclée

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...


Giclée (pronounced /ʒiːˈkleɪ/ "zhee-clay" or /dʒiːˈkleɪ, from French [ʒiˈkle]) is a neologism for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing. 


The word "giclée" is derived from the French language word "le gicleur" meaning "nozzle", or more specifically "gicler" meaning "to squirt, spurt, or spray". It was coined in 1991 by Jack Duganne, a printmaker working in the field, to represent any inkjet-based digital print used as fine art. The intent of that name was to distinguish commonly known industrial "Iris proofs" from the type of fine art prints artists were producing on those same types of printers. 


The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on Iris printers in a process invented in the early 1990s but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print and is often used in galleries and print shops to denote such prints.


... McFee Design has been making Giclée prints and cards since the late 1990s.

Getting to know artists and their work

One of the things I enjoy most about my work is meeting a new artist, experiencing his or her work, and getting to know the artist's story.


Over the course of any year, there will be a few artists whose art has a dramatic impact upon me. 2010 was no exception. And, while I am thinking about this, there are some artists, with whom I have been working for a few years, who continue to amaze me with the consistent impact of their work.


Photographing a work of art acquaints one with the art in ways that one rarely experiences. Spending an hour viewing  an image on the computer monitor reveals details one might not notice otherwise.

Sometimes the art stands alone. On other occasions the story of the artist is interwoven with the art and that becomes the significant thing. In any case, when I have a major reaction to the art or the story, I wish I could share this with other people.

I am hoping, subject to the permission of the artists involved, to share some of the art and stories with the readers of this page. The first post in this series should happen during the first week of March 2011.

Stay tuned...

Have McFee Design create a digital reproduction...

• Experience
• reproducing art for over 16 years
• involved in digital photography since the beginning
• Satisfied Customers
• many clients return again and again
• business has grown by word-of-mouth
• Ontario clients from Sarnia to Belleville, Owen Sound to Port Stanley
• references upon request
• Diligence
• images proofed on monitor then printed to compare with original
• process is repeated until printed proof matches original
• final proof by client/artist
• Professional Equipment and Work-flow:
• high resolution digital cameras using the best lenses available
• studio lighting conditions (strobes with soft-boxes)
• tripod mounted camera triggered remotely from computer
• all images created in RAW format (maximum detail and flexibility)
• Adobe Lightroom software to correct and proof the image
• all stages of work-flow colour profiled: camera, monitor, editing software, printers, papers, final computer images 

Consider photographing your art rather than scanning it...

• Reproductions should be accurate & high resolution for all future needs
• Photography is best solution given current professional technology:
• allows for proper lighting
• allows for proper colour correcting after the image is created
• allows for originals of almost any size
• allows large originals to be photographed in sections
• Scanners can be used for smaller pieces but there are many limitations:
• scanners do not work for images bigger than bed of scanner
• scanners do not work well with oils/acrylics with texture
• placing pastels or charcoals on a scanner is asking for trouble
• sculpture and other three dimensional art is difficult to scan
• scanners may not be fine-tuned for art but for documents

Reasons to create digital reproductions of art

• Original will be gone – make a digital reproduction before it's too late!

• Documentation – Portfolio
   • for your own record - a portfolio of your work
   • to see your own progress, development, stages

• Copyright Protection
   • to prove an image was created by you

• Source of Income
   • an organization may want to buy rights to use the image
   • prints – on paper or canvas
   • fine art note cards
   • bookmarks
   • other items with the image
   • the copy can provide income long after the original is gone

• Promotional Materials
   • business cards
   • websites
   • magazines, newspapers
   • invitations & posters
   • any situation where your image could be used for promotion