Giclee, (zhee-clay) is a French term, in this case, meaning "spray of ink." An Iris ink jet print on watercolor paper is known as a Giclée. With the advent of Giclee, the art of fine art printing has become even more precise. Because no screens are used, the prints have a higher apparent resolution than lithographs. The dynamic color range is like serigraphy. In the Giclee process, a fine stream of ink-more than four million droplets per second-is sprayed onto archival art paper or canvas. The effect is similar to an air brush technique but much finer. Each piece is carefully hand mounted onto a drum which rotates during printing. Exact calculations of hue, value and density direct the ink of four nozzles. This produces a combination of 512 chromatic changes (with over 3 million colors possible) of highly saturated, nontoxic water based ink. The artist's color approval and input are essential for creating the final custom setting for the edition.

The latest advancement in the Giclee process are the work of a sophisticated fine art production facility that utilizes the highest resolution digital printers. This edition of fine art prints is a collaboration between the artist and a specially trained printing craftsmen. They have extended the boundaries of current technology by customizing their equipment, designing new programs, and offering protective coatings to ensure quality standards for the collector.

Displaying a full color spectrum, Giclee prints capture every nuance of an original painting-be it watercolor, oil or acrylic and have gained wide acceptance from artists like David Hockney and Robert Rauschenberg to major institutions like the Chicago Art Institute and L.A. County Museum.

Helens' Giclee Prices

The sizes of the main editions for each Giclee have been printed under the paintings. In many cases there are very few AP's in different sizes. Please inquire of you have other size needs. Some paintings that do not have an edition may in the future. It pays to ask.