We were lucky to catch up with Debra Halprin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Debra, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I am an Artist and I look at the work that I am reproducing with an Artist’s eye. In most cases, giclée printing establishments will take the original artwork, photograph it, color match it and call the client when the work is finished. What I do is much more customer oriented.

As an Artist I have a unique talent to discuss the distinct qualities of my client’s artwork. In order to create the reproduction, I photograph the artwork in RAW format and create a high resolution digital image of the piece. I then sit with the artist and make suggestions as how to best reproduce the image. Using Photoshop, I will make color, contrast and even compositional changes to enhance the work (all with the approval of the artist, of course). Unlike other printing establishments, I will run as many proofs as needed until I am happy with the outcome.

I will create a high-resolution digital image in .tiff and .jpg format for client use. In addition, I will size the digital images to client specifications. This is a valuable service as shows, galleries and exhibits to which they apply may request images in specific sizes.

When a client comes in to the studio, they don’t just leave with an archival reproduction of their work, they leave imparted with a greater knowledge of how to market their art.
As an award winning artist, I share my depth of experience with my clients and discuss the best ways to market their works.
Some of the topics covered:
-How to Safely protect and exhibit prints
-How to price prints
-What size to create the prints
-How to Best Display paper and canvas prints
-Various framing options available
-Reflected canvas edges (a technique that makes the canvas print appear to wrap around the sides of the stretcher bars)
-Where to Exhibit and sell prints
-The value of artist proofs and limited edition prints
-Copyright laws and reproduction rights

In addition, I also offer art and photo digital restoration services.
As well as private lessons in photographing artwork and PhotoShop

Debra, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I always loved art. For years I created works in stained glass. Once I became pregnant with my daughter, Molly, I decided I needed a less toxic medium and began taking classes watercolor. I love working in watercolors and quickly became proficient in the medium. As my works began to sell I found a woman to create my giclée prints. However, once she retired, I was not able to find a company to adequately represent my artwork. So, I decided to purchase the needed equipment, take lessons in Photoshop and figure it out for myself.
After a few years of creating my own giclée prints, several artists requested that I photograph and reproduce their artwork. My business began by word of mouth and has continued that way to this day.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

NFT’s??? I gotta say….I just don’t get it!
But boy would I have liked to have been the first to come up with the idea and sell it for through Sotheby’s for 1.4 Million Dollars!
Ok, so, it’s not like you can hang an NFT on your wall. What are you going to do?
Open your block chain wallet each time you wish to show your newly acquired artwork to friends and family?…..or maybe keep it as a screen saver on your computer?

OK, well, they say the NFT verifies and determines ownership of the artwork…..but so does having the original painting hanging on my wall. “It’s on my wall, it’s in my house, here is the bill of sale….yup, this artwork is mine”…

I would much rather have an original, hand created piece of art that adorns my walls. I do love original artwork. My home is filled with beautiful paintings.

How did you build your audience on social media?

As I said previously, my clients find me primarily through word of mouth and friends. That being said, I have close to 3000 Facebook friends.
Each time I create a giclée print of a particularly interesting work, I will photograph the artist, along with the original artwork and the giclée print. I will then post this on Facebook and comment about how much I enjoy the artwork and working with the artist.
As a result of the Facebook post I typically get an increase in artists coming to me to photograph their paintings and create their giclée prints.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Halprinart.com
• Instagram: Debra_Halprin_Art
• Facebook: Debra Grayer Halprin

Image Credits
Photography by Debra Halprin