Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Vintage Transfer Prints at Providence Tavern

Providence Tavern in downtown Edgewater, Colorado has a welcoming small town feel that locals take pride in.  Part of the appeal is the historical photographs and artwork from their town in the 1800's. 
The print on this wall shows the exterior of the building a century ago
Prints on this wall include an Edgewater street scene and baseball team
In order to give the prints an antique look I suggested to the owner that we do digital transfers.  The process was created by Bonnie Lhotka of Digital Art Studio Seminars.  A giclée print is first made on a clear acetate and then using a gel medium the ink is transferred to any number of fine art papers.  The transfer process creates a very rich looking print that looks like it was printed in a traditional wet lab on Fiber-based paper.  Also the technique allows for charming imperfections that make the photograph look aged.  The look is very similar to that of Polaroid transfers.
Poster advertising what is now Sloan's Lake Park
Original interior of what is now Providence Tavern
Digital Transfers are a great way to make a one of kind print with a lot of character.  Similar processes can be used to transfer images onto wood, metal, and glass.
Providence Tavern's classic beer truck photo collection

Monday, July 2, 2012

Printing Primary Colors for David Parker

Recently, I was lucky enough to get to do some work for David Parker for his show at FatTail Gallery in Denver.  Parker has an extraordinary eye for color.  His paintings give us a glimpse into a fantastic world that is vibrant and surreal.



The first task was to photograph some of his original paintings that had been previously owned.  The owner passed away and somehow the paintings were returned to Parker.  After I photographed them with my 4×5 camera I scanned the film and matched the color to the originals.  The scans came out incredible.  I am hoping his originals of these paintings are sold soon, so I get to make some large prints of my scans.



Next I received a packet of transparencies that had been previously photographed and the originals sold.  After scanning them I printed test strips to see the color and how large the files could be printed without losing quality.  For me this was the hardest part of the whole job.  It’s tough to print a painting without ever seeing the original.  I had no idea if the colors were accurate or not.  When I told Parker this he simply informed me that they are just the primary colors.  I guess I tend to over think things sometimes.



I printed the paintings on Chromata canvas from Breathing Color, using their Glamour II Veneer to seal it with a glossy finish.  By the time Parker arrived from France for the show all the prints were framed and ready to be displayed alongside some originals that had arrived in crates a week earlier.  I have to say that they looked pretty darn great all stretched and on display.  The show was a big success and Parker thanked me afterwards and said the prints made the show.  Some of the paintings are still on display and if you are in Denver I highly recommend stopping in at FatTail to enjoy some of these incredible paintings.

See more of Parker’s work at : www.parkerart.com



This post was imported from an older blog originally posted in 2010.