The Fraud of Hand Signed Reproductions

My works of art are NOT reproductions but begin as Original Digital Paintings conceived and executed directly on the computer specifically to be printed as Limited Edition Fine Art Giclée Paintings. The only means of viewing them is after they are printed. Fraudulent "hand-signed and numbered" reproduction giclée prints are high-quality, inkjet reproductions of original artwork such as oil paintings that do not need to be printed in order to view them, and they are dishonestly passed off as limited-edition prints to inflate their value. The fraud surrounding hand-signed, limited edition reproduced giclée prints involves marketing high-quality inkjet reproductions as rare, original works to justify high prices. An acerbic, sardonic locution I've recently read is ORIGINAL REPRODUCTION which is a blatant fallacy. There is NO SUCH THING AS AN ORIGINAL REPRODUCTION. Another fallacy is FINE ART REPRODUCTION. Fine Art works of art are original drawings, prints, paintings, sculptures and now original digital fine art paintings. Fraudsters also use techniques like hand-numbering, adding fake signatures, or applying fake texture to deceive buyers, taking advantage of the fact that giclées can be nearly indistinguishable from originals to the untrained eye.

Key Fraudulent Tactics and Red Flags:

"Hand-Signed" Misrepresentation: A signature adds no value to a reproduced print, it's merely a photograph of the original painting. And fraudsters often forge signatures or use digital, printed signatures, falsely implying some famous artist hand-signed them.

Fake "Limited" Edition: Prints are often marketed as rare, but the "limit" may be hundreds or thousands, similar to a daily newspaper run.

Artificially Added Texture: To hide the flat, dot-matrix nature of a print, scammers may apply a gel coating or, in some cases, hand-paint over the print to simulate brushstrokes, selling them as "original paintings".

The kind of texture I use in my painting technique is visual texture (or implied texture). It is the illusion of 3D surface quality on a 2D plane, created through artistic techniques like shading, color variation, and pattern, rather than physical touch. It adds depth, realism, and emotional connection to my paintings allowing me to simulate textures of an abstract nature.

Forged Documentation: Dubious or fake Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) are frequently provided, making a worthless reproduction seem legitimate.

Misleading Terminology: Sellers may use vague or fancy terms like "lithograph," "serigraph," or "mixed media" to describe what is actually an inkjet print.

How to Identify Fake Giclée Prints:

The "Edge" Test: Remove the artwork from the frame. An original canvas often has rough, uneven paint edges from the artist's work. A giclée reproduction, if on canvas, will typically have a perfectly smooth, even edge where it was wrapped.

Microscopic Examination: Under a magnifying glass or loupe, a giclée print will show tiny, consistent dots of color (cyan, magenta, yellow, black), whereas an original will show direct, un-patterned paint application.

Surface Texture Inspection: If the canvas looks perfectly smooth or has a consistent, synthetic, or "dimpled" texture rather than varying impasto, it is likely a reproduction.

Price Discrepancy: If the price seems "too good to be true" for a well-known artist, it is almost certainly a forgery.

Industry Context:
Giclée prints are legitimate reproductions if clearly labeled as such, but they rarely hold significant investment value unless they are indeed legitiment limited edition Giclée Prints of Original Digital Paintings created to be printed in limited editions. Many, however, are sold as investment pieces in shady, high-pressure environments, such as cruises or on online marketplaces like eBay. The market is particularly prone to scams targeting high-profile artists like Picasso, Dalí, and Chagall.

My works of art are NOT reproductions but begin as Original Digital Paintings conceived and executed directly on the computer specifically to be printed as Limited-Edition Fine Art Giclée Paintings. The fraud surrounding hand-signed, so-called limited edition reproduced giclée prints is infuriating. They are not works of art; they are simply pictures of paintings. I use all the artistic resources I have accumulated over the past 48 years to compose and execute every one of my digital paintings. Computer generated art is only as good as an artist's skill and knowledge of color theory, composition, life experiences and literary background. The computer is merely a tool just like a brush or a pencil albeit an incredibly sophisticated tool. To guarantee exclusivity, the high-resolution source files (specifically the .tif files) I use for printing are permanently deleted once the 75th painting in a series is printed while some of these charlatans go on printing hundreds or even thousands of so-called limited editions and keep right on signing them. To hide the flat, dot-matrix nature of a print, scammers may apply a gel coating or, in some cases, hand-paint over the print to simulate brushstrokes, selling them as "original paintings". The kind of texture I use in my painting technique is visual texture (or implied texture). It is the illusion of 3D surface quality on a 2D plane, created through artistic techniques like shading, color variation, and pattern, rather than physical touch. It adds depth, realism, and emotional connection to my paintings allowing me to simulate textures of an abstract nature and I make no bones about it! I'm up front about all my techniques and I make certain my patrons are fully aware of exactly what they are buying. This is a subject that has been simmering in my subconscious. One more thing that irks me no end are people who insist that computer paintings are invalid and not paintings at all. My digital paintings require a 48 year background of artistic study and hands on execution of paintings in every medium including oils, pastels, gouache, watercolors, acrylics, stained-glass and computer art.

Other Sources:
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