The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

A Sisters artist is branching out to a new medium — giclee. This newest print technique combines art and technology to provide the highest quality reproduction of an original painting.

Working with High Desert Gallery, artist John Simpkins is reproducing one of his favorite paintings called “Peaceable Kingdom.”

“I give everything I can — but then I know I need to let them go,” said Simpkins of his original paintings. He adds they are like children, “my DNA is mixed up in the paint.”

So Simpkins is glad to use the giclee technique to let a wider audience enjoy his painting. Giclee (pronounced zhee-CLAY) uses modern ink-jet technology to reproduce an image of high resolution on paper or canvas.

“It’s an older work that captures John’s spirit,” said High Desert’s Todd Dow of “Peaceable Kingdom.” The painting depicts a group of animals in the forest at twilight.

“It’s sort of a dream to sit with animals in a peaceable way,” said Simpkins. In the middle of the grouping sits a Cub Scout which Simpkins said is him as a boy. The painting shows a magical scene with a touch of whimsy.

Simpkins’ painting is one of two giclees the gallery has been working on and will soon release. Artist Paul Alan Bennett will be releasing “Sticks and Stones” featuring a dog playing by a river. Myrna Dow said the painting carries many of the icons of Bennett’s work, from the dog theme to the moon, painted border and trademark knit-stitch painterly style. Bennett has reproduced some of his other works in giclee.

These past few months, the Dows and the artists have worked to reproduce the paintings in their truest color and detail, with the highest quality archival ink and paper. After some tweaking, Dow said they are “happy with the quality.” The giclees are reproduced at close to original size. Both prints will be available at High Desert Gallery this month.

In addition to the gallery, the Dows own Sisters Art Publishing. Through that business they seek to produce the highest quality giclee prints in small editions.

“It’s an opportunity for us to take an artist in the gallery and provide a different revenue stream and distribution channel for them,” said Dow.

He points out that not everyone can afford or justify buying an original. So giclee gives collectors an opportunity to own a sought-after piece at a reasonable price.