Matters Of The Heart & The Art Snob

I love the artwork of internationally known, Debbie Marie Arambula. Mainly, because of the beautiful way love is conveyed. Debbie is an artist with no formal training who began painting twelve years ago. She is known for her buoyant heart paintings.

While it is my strongest desire to possess one of her works of art, I can’t afford to do so. If my husband and I didn’t have children I would pay the hefty $3000 price tag carried by the painting Labyrinth of Love pictured above. But for now, the only alternative is to purchase a giclee. But here is the crazy thing…

I am a geniune art admirer and what you would call an art snob. Like a fake handbag, I simply refuse to buy a giclee (pronounced zhee-clay), a digital reproduction of an original work of art. Digital reproduction allows an artist to increase their collector base by offering a less expensive alternative to the original, making their work widely available to a larger group of people. It is also translates into quick money for the artist. First, let me clarify before I continue. I am not referring to cheap poster prints that give giclees a bad reputation, but rather reprints on high quality paper or canvas that are sometimes embellished by the artist; nevertheless, I don’t want to own one.

Let me warn you, the price of a giclee is nothing to be sneezed at. A limited edition reproduction of Labyrinth of Love cost around $1600 and looks just as good; however, there is nothing like owning an original. There is no comparison really. Besides, I am unwilling to purchase a reprint equally as expensive. I’d rather go without. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll come across a giclee I can’t leave without. But for now, I only want original artwork.

For those of you who are not snobs like me and want to enhance your living space or purchase art purely for aesthetic reasons then you should purchase limited addition giclees that have been numbered and signed by the artist, which increases the value. The more reproductions available on the market decreases the value of the work.