Posted by Mario (Site Owner) at 20/07/04 12:59:
Well, someday it had to happen: people are starting to reproduce JH Lynch prints again and selling them on auctions. So be careful and read the description text very carefully before you start bidding. If it says something like "High Quality Art Print on photo paper in archival ink" it's a modern reproduction done with a bubblejet printer.
Posted by kitschking (Member) at 22/07/04 08:13:
theres a heap of these on Trademe.co.nz. Its ok if u really want to get a rare one i suppose to put on the wall but hardly kosher.....
Posted by Flo (Member) at 29/07/04 01:09:
Yeah,
I just came across these too.
It's not the same as finding an original print, but i'm tempted to purchase a "Rose" to tide me over till i find a proper copy.
(I'm surprised it took so long for someone to start doing this!)
Posted by kenmiers (Member) at 25/08/04 07:48:
Hi All, I am doing the Trademe reprints and I must say I've never even tried to pass off my prints as being 'old original prints'. It seems some JHL fans are taking the view my prints are intended to be passed off as old originals. How paranoid can people get? Like all printers I just try my best to respect the artists original image and reproduce the detail and colours to the best of my ability on the latest technology available. This includes archival pigment ink said to be colourfast for in excess of 100 years but we'll have to wait and see!
Not many of us drive vintage cars these days but there are those who will tell you their old car is better than newer ones!! Personally I can't see a value at all in a faded Lynch print - when it is not then the image the artist painted or wanted you to see!
With damage and the passing of time the old prints are often not fairing well, so many are beyond their best. As for printing methods I have studied the five well known pix and there are printing flaws which seem to indicate screen printing was the method some were printed by. The Rose on the quasimodo sight has a screen judder pattern - ink shortage?- on the right hand side, this is the same as the one in Just Above The Mantle Piece.- it's the same pic I think.
With current technology low volume printing is at least possible, but its not cheap. All printer manufacturers think they can sell printers for a modest price and then make a killing on the ink sales. When I started I sold A2 size prints for $69 and since receiving some questions of 'why are your prints so cheap' I've doubled this price.
I just hope people will get on with enjoying these images. After all they were intended 'mass market' for all to see! Cheers to all fans.
Posted by Mario (Site Owner) at 25/08/04 10:13:
Ken, as you probably have color corrected high-end scans of the prints - could you provide me with some downscaled versions so I can replace the ones in the gallery?
Posted by retroboy (Member) at 25/08/04 23:15:
I think it's a good idea to reproduce the prints..........i'd like to see some of the more rare one
retroboy
Posted by kenmiers (Member) at 26/08/04 03:23:
Hi Mario
I have only been working with the five best known prints and I would like to offer to print others but where does one get high resolution images of the others?? Owners would need to offer hi-res pix of their prints for reprint backgrounds, requiring colour, repair & enhancement, but never the less essential as base material.
I have looked at the quasimondo pictures and of those I think the Rose is pretty much showing original colour and contrast. The Nymph is virtually devoid of any strong colour in comparison. So the best method I know to try and remain faithful to the original image is to find the best pic you can and then work to resurrect the colour using primarily brightness and contrast to get them back. A good guide is to place the pic you're working on between another two of the same artist. I reckon jhl probably used only one brand of paints - maybe 'Tayles' like Tretchikoff, therefore the colours should look similar to other paintings.
JHL paintings should, if you go by the Rose and Autumn Leaves, literally jump off the page. So if they don't they are faded - at least that is my view. I have a seriously resurrected nymph for you to look at between a Rose off your site unchanged and a Autumn leaves with only a slight contrast tweak. if you wish to use the Nymph just crop it out, same with Autumn Leaves. How do you want me to send u the pix? Cheers. Ken
Posted by shelly (Member) at 25/04/05 11:07:
Can you please let me know your email address Kenmiers I am interested in purchasing a Rose from you. I have the Nymph, Tina, woodlands goodess and the autumn one all in Above the mantle piece but not Rose. I have the book and it breaks my heart that Rose or Lisa as it is now known is on the cover and I don't have it.
Thanks
Posted by RetroPercetive (Member) at 04/06/05 23:23:
It looks like there is some of these on ebay at the moment.
Posted by kenmiers (Member) at 21/03/06 20:51:
Hi All
I list for sale on http://www.trademe.co.nz/
Anybody can view however I think only members can leave questions on the auctions, also the trademe system may only welcome or allow overseas members fom Australia.
If you have any trouble asking questions on the trademe auctions please post this on the forum.
I would be happy to list my mail address on the forum except that some of the purist collectors are not very nice people - at least not towards me!!
They would rather the supply and the market for JHL pix was limited and tight, supposedly to make them feel their own collections will appreciate in price from the reducing availability!
cheers Ken
Posted by Mario (Site Owner) at 22/03/06 11:19:
Well, at least for me the biggest appeal about collecting something is not to own it, but to discover it. And of course the more seldom an item is the bigger is the satisfaction if one finds it. I see your reprints a bit like cheats in computer games - for a short while it's fun to have infinite lifes or to get to the next level by just typing in some secret key combination, but this effect wears off very quickly and afterwards the game is just dull and pointless and ends up in the drawer.
Posted by kenmiers (Member) at 26/03/06 06:24:
Hi Mario
For me the game is to reproduce the item with the colour the artist intended which has mostly long gone.
Many prints like Rose for example ( I can't remember when I last saw one listed ) are appearing rarely now so I feel the option to have a new print as opposed to nothing is worth having for many. Others like Steam at Dawn are a refreshing change from the girls and clearly quite a technical challenge for the artist with all the mechanical parts to paint in perspective, yet few people will have the chance to own this print unless they also buy a reproduction.
For the lucky owners of rare originals the availability of replica's, which are not antiques, should not affect the old print values.
Like vintage cars, a replica only infers the originals are scarce to the point of creating demand for replication.
On the rarer prints the point of replication has really almost been lost as it appears they have succumbed to extinction. Even you cannot get good shots for the gallery. This extinction is a far worse end to the images than replication. We are all deprived them!
So like the Panda I think it is time to incubate images to regenerate interest in J.H. Lynch art in anyway possible. I notice even the repro-knockers are reluctant to pay several hundred dollars for an antique print which is what the vendors want these days. This has put many of the available prints beyond the bulk of the buyers. This price reluctance may be holding back movement of the prints which would otherwise be available, while leaving the original intended kitsch Art for the Masses market wanting badly. cheers Ken
Posted by mandy.au (Member) at 12/12/06 04:06:
kenmiers,
I live in Australia, and i am interested in purchasing, nymph. I understand you sell on trade me, but i was wondering if I could pls have your email address, for sale.
P.s How much for postage to Aust?
Thank you.
Amanda
Posted by kenmiers (Member) at 12/01/07 00:14:
Hi, artbank@clear.net.nz cheers Ken :-)
Posted by kenmiers (Member) at 05/09/07 22:49:
Hi All,
One needs glasses to attend this forum..... I have had a lot of flack from printing Lynch and Tretch images... I tend to ignore the pessimists wanting originals as many people like the images yet don't want their houses to look like 'dungeons full of junk'.
Lets face it.. to buy any older print is like a lucky dip... after all, how can a print be expected to adorn a wall for 50 years and bleach with lots of UV light rays, have the odd glass of wine etc chucked at it by a jelous wife... and still be expected to look new!
The reality is that all original prints that have been hung are faded a lot and most are damaged too - it is a matter of degree only.
Clawing the images back to reprint is time consuming and requires the patience of a saint! No Art Museum is going to pickup the tab for work they consider is kitsch!
My present isp is woosh NZ - the email address is k.miers@woosh.co.nz
:-)
:-)