HAND-COLORED LANDSCAPES

In the 1980’s and 90’s I became fascinated with what had become the “dying” art form of painting on photographs with oil paints. This technique was originally used to color black and white pictures before the advent of color photography. I used Marshall’s Photo Oils which have now mostly gone out of existence. Hard to imagine that back in those days, the personal computer was in its infancy and Photoshop was non-­existent.

The photographs were taken with a Nikon F, printed on matte photo paper, then “painted” with photo oils. What separated the work I was doing at the time from others that dabbled in this art form was my technique: I covered the entire surface of the photograph with paint, where others merely “tinted” their photos. Although this technique isn’t something I’ve used in years, I still find these images compelling.

Selected images are available for purchase: image size 8”x13”, frame size 16”x20”, $750.