THE ART OR GRIS GRIMLY
PAGE THREE
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Gris Grimly's extraordinary vision has been haunting the imagination of fine art and illustration collectors since he fist arrived on the art scene less than a decade ago. Primarily known for his dark and delicious drawings for young readers, Mr. Grimly's distinctive style is a perfectly blended potion of the monstrously macabre and the wickedly whimsical.
Born in the Midwest, Mr. Grimly, like so many creative children, was drawn to the exciting and scary world of monsters and goblins. Young Gris secretly admired the works of artists as diverse as Ralph Steadman, Edward Gorey and Egon Schiele. Carefully observing and absorbing the darker sides of creative geniuses like Dr. Seuss and Jim Henson - the later for whom he had hoped to work one day and thus explaining why he cut up his mother's sheets to make his own puppets -Grimly understood instinctively the innocent attraction that the child in all of us has for the sinister land of ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night.
After graduating from art college, Mr. Grimly brought his remarkable talent to Los Angeles where he started working for Universal Studios. During these lean years he contributed character designs for themed entertainment while in his spare time producing a series of original (and now extremely rare and highly valued) miniature books. The sold-out series of slip-cased works, complete with sideshow banner covers showcasing the lives of Helium Head Harold and Norbert the Seal Boy among others, were produced in limited quantities of no more than nine each. Every small panel of each individual book was a hand-painted original.
These diminutive masterpieces brought him to the attention of discerning collectors and high-profile publishers, both of whom actively sought him out. Almost immediately, editors at Harper Collins and Hyperion Press ( a division of the Walt Disney Company) hired him to paint the covers for best selling works and to illustrate original children's books like Monster Museum and Creature Carnival. His intricate lines and startling layouts combined with an exceptional use of carefully controlled water color and ink washes were instantly hailed by his peers, themselves leaders in the field of fantasy and horror illustration and fine art; many of whom had inspired Mr. Grimly in his youth. Evidence of his place in this unique segment of the art world was marked early on when his work was selected to appear in Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantasy Art, the leading arts journal showcasing the best and brightest fantasy and science fiction artists around the world. Mr. Grimly was in good company at a very young age, sharing the pages with the likes of James Gurney (Dinotopia), Peter de'Seve (noted for his covers for The New Yorker) and Caldecott winners Leo and Diane Dillon.
Gris Grimly has now returned to his roots illustrating his own writing in such books as Gris Grimly's Wicked Nursery Rhymes. Best selling horror author and film director Clive Barker referred to Grimly's work as "stylish, funny and gloriously ghoulish."
Van Eaton Galleries is pleased to be the exclusive representative of Mr. Grimly's original drawings, water colors and paintings as well as commissioned works. His dark humor and thoroughly original vision opens up a vibrant world of childhood nightmares with both a chill and a subtle wink, making him the 21st century equivalent of a young Charles Addams and quickly on his way to being just as highly prized by discerning and appreciative collectors across the globe.
WHAT IS A GICLEE?
In days gone by, to own a piece of artwork was to own an original painting, sculpture, etc. Since printing was invented, hundreds of years ago, the "art" of printing has progressed to an art form of its own. With the invention of inkjet printers, Giclee has come into a new being.
The French word Giclee means "spraying of ink". As in the inkjet printer possibly sitting on you computer desk, a Giclee print is produced by a very precise spraying of ink.
Prints had been made (and still are) using plates, often made by hand and now may be made by computer controlled laser etching processes. This plate is inked and pressed to a paper.
In the Giclee process, an original (often an original painting) is digitized. This scan or transparency (photographic slide) of the original art is stored in a computer. This computer is the controlling element of a precision ink jet. This jet sprays several million droplets per second onto paper mounted on a drum that rotates while the spraying is taking place. The paper is normally the type of medium the artist may use for the original painting, say watercolor paper for a watercolor painting and its Giclee.
Due to the exact nature of this process, it is possible to produce over 7 million colors. The computer's calculations of the properties of the scanned image, such as hue and density, control the ink spray of four nozzles. Ink used is a nontoxic water-based ink that is highly saturated.
The artist is an integral part of this printing process. A print is made, the artist "red lines" the proof, changes are made and another print is made. This process continues until the artist is satisfied with the result. In a way, making the print an original of its own. Once the final settings are decided, the final print is made.
Giclee allows a print to have a higher resolution than a lithograph and very high range of color. Every nuance of the original art is captured with Giclee. The original can be virtually anything that can be scanned, be it an oil, watercolor, photograph, etc.
HOW TO ORDER
To order any of the Limited Editions, Books, Or Original Artwork you see on these pages, Please e-mail us or call us at 800-599-3693 or 818-788-2357
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