 |
|
| |
|
|
The Art of Stone Lithography
Michael Parkes is a living master of the stone lithograph process, which is an increasingly
rare art form. dying art.
Michael’s ability to draw a firm line around his ideas is one of his greatest gifts – and
absolutely essential for the
demanding discipline of stone lithography. Parkes began in the early 1980’s making hand-pulled
original stone
lithographs, drawing them in the traditional manner directly onto the stone. He has always been
attracted to the
immediacy of stone lithography. The medium is very intolerant of mistakes. The artist
needs to know exactly what he
wants to do and exactly how to do it.
Parkes stone lithographs can use as many as 14 colors and traditionally that would
mean 14 different stones, but over
the years Parkes created a technique where he used two or three stones to produce the same results.
The image for
each new color is drawn on the stone and in doing so, the previous color-image is completely erased
and irretrievable.
One cannot backtrack for correcting or adding to a previous color already printed. It makes the
process much faster
but the safety net is gone. To many artists this is terrifying and they refer to it as the “suicide
run.” To Parkes, it is a
stimulating challenge that he loves to meet ---one of the reasons for his 25 year love affair with stone
lithography.
All of Michael Parkes stone lithographs are done with his direct participation –
he draws on the stones, hand checks
each print, and signs only those that meet his very exacting standards. Because the printing process
involves so
much hand-work, each stone lithograph in an edition has slight differences from each other, and so they
are
individually numbered and one of a kind. Many experts consider hand-drawn limited edition stone
lithograph prints to be
original works of fine art.
|
|
|
The Art of the Aurographics Collection
The Aurographics Collection brings fine museum quality reproductions of Michael Parkes’
work to a wider audience.
The Aurographics Collection includes mixed media prints, giclée prints, and other reproduction
mediums. Michael works
directly with the premier digital atelier in Europe to create high resolution digital images. At times,
Michael will personally
make changes directly in the digital imagery to make the giclée print unique. Other times, the
original is reproduced
exactly.
Giclée prints are gaining widespread acceptance and auction value generally,
and appear in several prestigious
museum collections, including those of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern
Art.
Quality: The prints in the Swan King Editions Aurographics Collection
represent the highest quality of giclée prints
available, and are backed by a solid guarantee (see below). Since 2007, all of Michael Parkes
giclées are printed at
Re-Art in Amsterdam, one of the world’s premier digital fine art ateliers. Re-Art is setting
the standard for giclée printing
worldwide and has been chosen by the world-renowned Rijksmuseum, Teylers Museum (the oldest museum in Holland) and the Rembrandt House Museum for their very exacting and precise reproductions that they require.
Process: The exceptional quality of Michael’s giclées begins
with a photographic scan of an original. Re-Art works
with a Cruse Fine Art Table Scanner. Museums like the Louvre, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and most important
museums
worldwide are using this as the best system for art photography. ( www.crusedigital.com.)
Michael then works with
Re-Art to ensure that the digital image is exactly according to his standards of perfection and his
unique esthetic. Next,
Michael reviews test proofs of the printed giclée to get to the final giclée print.
Printer: Parkes’ giclées are printed by Re-Art on an
Epson printer at 2880 dpi using a piezo (rather than thermic)
technology. This printer is the best available on the market. Printers used may be changed as
improved technology is
developed.
Inks: The inks used are real pigment inks. No B-quality bulk inks,
solvent inks, or dye inks are used.
Paper or Canvas: Depending on the effect that Michael desires to achieve
for the new work, the prints are printed with
archival quality inks onto canvas or archival paper. All papers and canvases are acid free and
contain no “optical
brightener additives” or OBAs. The papers and canvasses used are treated before printing
with top quality coatings
that affix and preserve the imagery. These high-quality treated papers and canvasses are much
more expensive than
those typically used in the production of giclées today.
Longevity: Based on scientific test results of the materials Re-Art uses
in the creation of Michael’s giclées, we feel
comfortable saying that it is most likely that the giclées printed by Re-Art have a longevity between
50 and 300 years,
depending upon how they are displayed. If a giclée is museum conserved, it will last longer.
If it is displayed in full sun,
its life will be shorter. Test results for some of our giclée materials and equipment are
available at www.wilhelm-
research.com, specifically but not limited to www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/7900.html.
Of course, since the digital
giclée printing process is a relatively new technological advance, 50 years has not yet passed,
and so no giclée has
existed long enough yet to literally stand that test of time.
Guarantee: All Michael Parkes giclées are backed by our own and
Re-Art’s Certified Art Giclée guarantee
( www.certifiedartgiclee.com, English language
version available by clicking on the British flag) against fading or color
loss. Any giclée that fades or loses its color within 50 years of the date of its release
will be replaced at no charge,
provided the giclée is returned to us, and provided that it is not displayed directly in full sunlight.
|
|
|
The Art of Original Painting
Michael Parkes’ rare original paintings pair exquisite beauty with technical
perfection. The viewer is drawn first to the
impossibly pure elegance of Parkes’ paintings and then is transported to a world of repose, magic,
myth and dreams.
Even the most fantastic angel or beast is endowed with credible anatomy under Parkes’ meticulous
brush. The attention
to detail in Parkes’ paintings and the tremendous time invested in creating each of these art treasures
is rare in a world
where so many artists rush to paint a high volume of work to meet commercial demand.
|
|
|
Michael uses the ancient technique of lost wax for all of his sculptures. See " lost
wax " in wikipedia. From the
beginning of the first sketches of a sculpture idea to the final, first cast piece, it can
take up to 6 months of work. After
doing many sketches of ideas, Michael will take the one that he likes the most and translate
it into a three dimensional
image in wax. Clay is used for the larger sculptures. Detail work on the wax pieces is done
with a covering of harder
wax that can be carved if necessary. All of the work, from the beginning of carving the wax
to applying the finished
patina is very labor and time intensive. The patina of all the sculptures, except for
the Dragon Collector and Strawberry
Collector is a classical Florentine finish. For the recent Dragon Collector and the
Strawberry Collector, Michael decided
to experiment with patinas using acids and heat to create richly colored images.
Until recently, Michael worked in
Tuscany, Italy, using the Marinelli foundry. For the Strawberry and Dragon Collector
sculptures, and now for current
works in progress, Michael went to Decker Studios in California. Detailed photographs
of the casting process at the
foundry can be found on Decker Studio's website at http://www.deckerstudios.com/about-casting/casting.shtml.
|
|
|
The Art of the Granolitho
The granolitho process uses metal plates to create the artwork. One of the things
special about this process is that the
metal plates have no dot pattern like in offset printing but are completely tonal. It is a patented
process that is only used
by the renowned print shop Matthieu A.G., in Zurich, Switzerland. This revolutionary
technique allows for artistic
manipulation and interpretations to create the finished art. Each color printed in granolitho has its
own surface and
therefore the artist can adjust his creation at every step of the way. This may include the introduction
of other printing
methods like serigraph, embossing or even stone lithography into the granolitho process.
In regard to inquiries concerning the use of nudity in his work, Michael offer the following thoughts:
In the traditional subjects of mythology, legend and cosmology, the disrobed figure was an accepted and necessary form of expression in all civilizations, including our own. During the Italian Renaissance to the present day great masters have used nudity for their figures representing mythological and spiritual themes.
The advantage of using the nude was that it freed the human figure of its social and cultural context. The disrobed figure can remind us that a sense of freedom, a lack of shame, a fearlessness and a nobility of spirit are our inherent rights as human beings.
For example, in the painting 'NightFlight', I was exploring the legend of the Valkyries, or swan maidens in Teutonic mythology, a legend that dates back to the dawn of Western civilization. There are obviously certain symbols in the painting that place it firmly in this century; otherwise I would be just retelling the same old story.
Reconnecting with the mythos and the spiritual origins that are the foundation of our civilization is why I continue to paint. To reject tools, techniques and images that have been used for more than two thousand years to explore that terrain seem out of the question.
Museums are full of paintings and sculpture that use nudity, not for its shock value, but to express a unique type of allegory in which time and space lose their grip and the myth is able to live within us.
Artists Who Have Inspired Michael
I have great admiration for Rembrandt, Magritte, Klimt and many others. Some I love their technique and others I admire their subject matter. Among contemporary artists, the artist that restarted my career years ago is still a wonderful painter. His name is Jose Manuel Gomez and he lives Spain ( www.josemanuelgomez.com). |
|
|
What does the Edition Size mean?
The edition size tells you how many reproductions imprints of a particular n original
work were produced. at one time.
Michael’s limited editions can be released as stone lithographs, sculptures giclees, granolithos,
or other mixed media
fine art works.
Individual prints in an edition can be numbered or designated “EA” or “H.C.” all of which are included in the total edition
size.
A reproduction can be expressed in many different mediums. In Michael’s studio,
a reproduction is most often a
meticulously-produced stone lithograph print, a fine art giclee, or a bronze sculpture. The edition
size is located at the
bottom of his prints and on the base of his sculptures. This website describes the edition size in two
numbers
(example: 250 & 25 EA’s). In this example, the first number tells you there are 250 works
numbered 1/250 to 250/250
and the second number tells you there are 25 works signed “EA” in addition to the numbered
works (please see What
are EA’s? and What are HC’s for more information). Michael often produces less than 200 prints
of one image and less
than 80 reproductions of a bronze sculpture.
Almost all of Michael’s stone lithograph images are unique in that they do not
exist in any other medium. Furthermore,
Michael releases only one edition for a particular image or sculpture, making the availability of his
reproductions very
limited.
Michael says: “Sometimes I start out with the idea of making an edition of 160
and everything goes wrong and I end up
with an edition of 100 and no EA's. Then other times things happen like the Dark Sphinx...I overestimated
the amount of
paper, nothing went wrong, and so I had too many EA's and had to destroy some. But the bottom
line is that stone
lithography is an art and you simply cannot regulate the EA's and the total number in the edition so
cleanly as you can a
giclee litho. In Europe, where the stone lithography process began, they are more flexible with EA's
than in many states
in the U.S. Sometimes you have 10% and other times it is a bit more or a bit less. So how will
we handle this? Some
artists are rather unscrupulous and will have 50% EA's and put a dab here and there and call them a
new litho edition.
Dali himself put a color line around a litho and called it another edition! We make the number
of EA's around ten percent
of the edition size.
|
|
|
|
EA is French for Exemplar Artiste. Most of Michael’s editions include a small
number of works signed EA in addition to
the numbered works. The EA’s refer to the printmaking tradition of using the first printed works
as proofs for the rest of
the edition. Because Michael is a master printer, many of his EA prints do not require hand-correction
and are identical
in quality to the numbered prints. The few EA prints that Michael hand-proofs are one-of-a-kind artwork
that are made
available outside of the edition.
|
|
|
|
Again, because stone lithography is an art, sometimes there are more than the planned
edition size that the come off
the stone as still-great images. When that happens, we designate them “H.C.” (hors de
commerce) meaning outside the
edition and not for sale, and they are not sold.
|
|
|
Does Michael Make Appearances?
Michael makes appearances in United States and European galleries about one to two
times a year. He recently visited
the U.S. in the Fall of 2007 for a month of solo shows. Please check the News and Exhibitions page for
updates on his
schedule.
|
|
|
Where Can I See Michael’s Artwork?
Michael has a network of authorized galleries that extends throughout Europe and the
United States, with the majority
located in California, USA. Please visit the Gallery Contacts page to locate the gallery nearest you.
|
|
|
How Can I Purchase Artwork?
Please contact one of Michael’s authorized galleries on the Gallery Contacts
page for prices and availability of artwork.
|
|
|
What is Swan King Editions?
Swan King Editions is Parkes' own company, and serves as Parkes' exclusive publisher and agent internationally. Swan King Editions coordinates the business aspects of Michael's creative works, licensing, appearances, and relations with authorized dealers and galleries. For information, please email info@skeditions.com in San Francisco.
California law provides for disclosure in writing of information concerning certain fine prints, photo-graphs, and sculptures prior to affecting a sale of them. This law requires disclosure of such matters as the identity of the artist, the artist's signature, the medium, whether the multiple is a reproduction, the time when the multiple was produced, use of the plate which produced the multiple, and the number of multiples in a "limited edition." If a prospective purchaser so requests, the information shall be transmitted to him or her prior to payment, or the placing of an order for a multiple. If payment is made by a purchaser prior to delivery of the multiple, this information will be supplied at the time of or prior to delivery, in which case the purchaser is entitled to a refund if, for reasons related to matter contained in such information, he or she returns the multiple in the condition in which received, within 30 days of receiving it. In addition, if after payment and delivery, it is ascertained that the information provided is incorrect, the purchaser may be entitled to certain remedies, including refund upon return of the multiple in the condition in which received." Cal. Civ. Code § 1742(b)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
