A guide to buying giclee artwork

Welcome to my blog, I am a professional cartoonist, illustrator and writer. My site here is intended to promote a range of works that I think will look good on the wall. I've included here, not just my work, but some works by other artists whose work I love and hope to bring to a wider audience. I've chosen to illustrate these blogs with my own photographic images that have inspired some of my latest works. I hope you will feel inspired to look further.

If you are looking for a guide to buying giclee artwork, the first thing to say is that the term sounds grander than it needs to. A giclee print is simply a high-quality inkjet fine art print made with good equipment, good inks and good paper. That is the plain-English version, and for most buyers it is the useful one.

What matters is not the romance of the label, but whether the work has presence, whether the print has been produced properly, and whether it will still please you when you pass it every day. That is how I think about prints. It has to earn its place on the wall.

What a good guide to buying giclee artwork should tell you

A lot of explanations stop at the printing process, but that is only half the story. The print method matters because it allows subtle tones, strong blacks, good colour control and a surface that feels closer to an artwork than a poster. But a beautifully printed weak image is still a weak image.

When buying, look at the picture first. Ask yourself whether the composition holds together, whether the subject has real character, and whether the image keeps your attention after the first glance. Some work is made to match a sofa. Some work is made because the artist has actually seen something worth showing. The second kind nearly always lasts longer in a room.

That is one reason I am drawn to subjects with a bit of weather and history in them. Old industrial buildings, sheds, corrugated iron and battered metalwork have a marvellous visual honesty. They catch light in surprising ways, they carry marks of use, and they often sit perfectly against softer landscape settings. The Gloucestershire countryside is full of that sort of contrast, as are places along the River Severn, where working structures and open land seem to speak to each other rather well.

The image comes before the process

It is easy to get distracted by technical claims, but the image should still lead the decision. If you are buying a landscape, for example, look at depth, rhythm and atmosphere. If you are buying an urban piece, look at shape, edge, graphic punch and whether the scene feels observed rather than borrowed from a trend.

That is also true of photographic work. A strong photograph printed as a giclee can have real weight on a wall, especially when the subject has structure and attitude. Large advertising signs in the Los Angeles area are a good example. Done well, they have scale, graphic clarity and a certain faded glamour. They work as photographic images, and they also translate brilliantly to canvas prints when you want something bolder and more immediate.

Paper, surface and why they change the feel

One of the biggest buying decisions is the paper. A smooth fine art paper usually gives a cleaner, sharper look. It suits graphic line, crisp photography and images where detail matters. A more textured paper softens things slightly and can add warmth or a more tactile feel, especially with landscapes, charcoal work and painterly images.

Neither is automatically better. It depends on the work. Black and white drawings often benefit from a surface that keeps edges clear and lets the darks sit properly. A misty rural scene might suit a paper with a gentler surface. If the subject is a weathered shed, rusted roofing or old corrugated iron, the right paper can help those textures feel convincing without making them look over-processed.

This is where buying from people who care about print quality makes a difference. Good production is not only about expensive machines. It is about matching the image to the material so the final piece feels right.

Size matters more than people think

Many buyers play safe and go too small. A good print needs enough space to breathe, but it also needs enough scale to have authority. If you love an image because of its detail, don't shrink it to the point where that detail disappears. If you love it because of its bold shapes, make sure it has room to make an impact.

On the other hand, very large prints are not always the answer. In a smaller room, a moderate-sized piece with strong composition can do more than an oversized print chosen just to fill a gap. Think about viewing distance, wall width and what else is in the room. You are not just buying an image. You are buying its relationship to the space.

Framed, unframed or canvas

There is no single correct option here. Framed giclee prints tend to feel more finished and considered, especially in living rooms, hallways and workspaces where you want the piece to sit comfortably with furniture and lighting. Unframed prints can be useful if you already know your framer or want more control over the final look.

Canvas prints are a different thing altogether. They are less about paper detail and more about surface presence. Some images suit this very well, particularly bold scenes, graphic urban subjects and pieces with strong tonal masses. That Los Angeles signage I mentioned earlier can look superb on canvas because the scale and directness of the subject carry over naturally.

Buying online without seeing the print in person

Most people now buy artwork online, and that is perfectly reasonable, but it does mean you have to read with a sharper eye. Look for clear descriptions of the process and materials. Check whether the seller talks like someone who knows the work, rather than someone shifting stock. If the wording is all hype and no judgement, I would be cautious.

You should also pay attention to the consistency of the selection. A good artist-led shop usually has a point of view. The work may vary in medium or subject, but there is a standard running through it. That matters because curation is part of quality. A random catalogue can leave you doing all the filtering yourself.

Taste, mood and what you actually want to live with

There is a difference between admiring an image and wanting it in your home. Some prints are clever for five minutes. Others settle in and become part of the place. If your taste leans towards rural scenes, lino cuts, industrial details or black and white drawing, trust that instinct. You do not need a grand theory. You just need a good eye and a bit of honesty about what you want to wake up to.

Personally, I think images with structure and atmosphere tend to last. That might be a Gloucestershire view with changing weather across the fields, a riverside scene near the Severn, or a plain old shed with enough character in the boards and roofline to carry the picture. I have always liked subjects that people overlook. They often make the best prints because they have shape, memory and a bit of grit.

There is more of that sort of work on the way too, including new images of sheds and forthcoming works by Steve Parker, alongside recent paintings and charcoal drawings. That sort of steady addition matters because buying art should feel like following a real practice, not browsing a warehouse.

A final thought before you buy

The best giclee print is not the one with the fanciest description. It is the one that still looks right a month later, then a year later, and still has enough life in it to catch your eye when the light changes. Buy the picture first, the print method second, and leave a bit of room for your own taste to lead the way.