One of the things that I love about lumen printing is its unpredictability of the final image. I use a variety of fine-art photographic papers, each having unique chemical properties that yield different colors. I often spray the photo paper with liquids, such as saline, vinegar, or cooking wine, which can also affect color. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, gold and selenium toning solutions can also affect color.
What’s really fun about the process, however, is the unpredictability of the image itself. I learned early on that it was vital for me to note on the back of the print which plant I used. Variable thicknesses of the organic material can often create an abstract image that resembles nothing at all like the original plant. It’s those abstract images that stimulate conversation.
One of my early prints, “Lilies and Tulle,” looked nothing like lilies. If you looked closely, you could see the tulle’s effect on the image, but the lilies were a bit difficult to identify. Visitors to my studio often claimed to see a dog, a man, a monkey, or a lion. I was almost sad to see this print leave my studio. I hope the couple that took home this original print are having fun with it!
What do you see?
A young woman walked into my studio the other day, pointed to the wall behind me, and said that she liked the print that looked like a horse. I turned around to look at the prints on my back wall, and still didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. She approached the wall and pointed to a print that I had made from spider daisies. In all the time that I’ve had that print, I had never seen a horse, but now that she showed it to me, I can’t unsee it. Can you see it?
If you need artwork as a conversation starter, stop by my studio at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards, or contact me for a FaceTime meeting.