Wallace Nutting

Most people don't know who Wallace Nutting is.  Unless you are exposed to his photographs or love historical furniture his name is not well known.  I came across his unique art form when I was thumbing through a box of old photographs and postcards. They were quite old, before the era of color photography yet they were so colorful, they almost looked otherworldly.  Most were just blank but a few had the signature Wallace Nutting on them. After doing a little research I discovered that he was a pioneer of hand colored photography.
He was a minister who retired in his early 40's because of ill health.  He had two hobbies, photography and bicycling.  He combined the two, taking many photographs of the New England countryside.  He hand colored them to make them more interesting using oil paints, solvents, small brushes and solvents.  They became so popular at his peak he had 200 "colorists" working for him.
I used his method to do some hand colored photos on my own.  It is a long time consuming process but the end result can be really special.
This is one of my favorites.  If you zoom in you can see where the color is applied.
Below is Sunset in Rockport NFS and Pretty Things, which is a necklace and shells.

Pretty Things


donnavinesart@Etsy.com
donnavinesart.blogspot.com

As I was getting my materials together for a workshop I had to move my plastic bin of hand painting materials and photos.  I had not done any hand colored photos for quite awhile and I of course had to open the container, anything to put off real work.  I found a photo I had started and decided to put out a few paints and see if it was still paintable.  Well I did and it was.
 For some reason the time flies by and you can really get into the zone when hand painting. Here is a blow up of an area of the photo I was working on.  It was a picture I had taken in Maine at a friend's house.  All of my photos are old snapshots I took when I was doing a lot of hand painting.
 I use special Marshall oils, cotton and Q-tips for applying.  This photo was a sepia tone.
I just love the colors and tone you can create with this process.  It was so relaxing I moved the container to the top so I could easily get out my kit again.

unfinished hand painted photo

Hand colored photos

Several years ago I did some hand colored black and white photos.  I had long been intrigued by the process, ever since I had seen some postcards and landscapes in an antique shop many years ago.  I read about the process and decided to try it. 
It is very time consuming and can be tedious but I loved the results.  These are photos of two subjects I did that were not landscapes or outdoor scenes.
Donna Vines

 
 

Abstracts to Collage to Oils oh my

One of the best things about being an artist in a group is that you are exposed to so many techniques.  Our group is so diverse, with so many interests we are never bored or boring nor is our Art Sale!!
This December 5th and 6th is our famous, yes I mean famous Pieces of 8 pre- holiday sale.
This year for the first time it will be a 2 day event, tied into First Friday in Eau Gallie and continuing on Saturday.  We will be at our new studio space at Ralph's Art Supply and he has graciously agreed to us starting our sale on Friday from 3:00 to 8:30 and into Saturday 10:00-4:00.
I love dappling in oils, collage and abstracts of all kinds and will have all of the above for sale at the show and I am only  one person. 
We always have so much fun meeting some of the wonderful people who support us by purchasing our art,  following us on Facebook and our blog.
Here are a few of the pieces I will have at the sale.  Please come by, browse, enjoy  and say hello.
Donna Vines

Bouquet
 

Button Up
 

Hand colored black and white photo

 

Just the Bling

Here is the same subject with just the jewelry. It takes a long time to get deep or bold color into a hand painted photo. The color is added a layer at a time, wiped and then after some time has gone by added again. You follow this process until you get the color you want.
The oils I used were special oils made just for this process. You also need special additives to mix with the paint and seal it. All the color is added with cotton swabs, not the ones you buy like Q-tips, but ones you make yourself from pure puffed cotton you can buy in a drug store. You then wrap the cotton loosely around long slender sticks you can send for.
I just love the colors on this one.
Donna Vines

Just the Bling

Shells and Bling

Another favorite subject of mine to hand paint were everyday indoor scenes.  Everyday objects next to each other or that seemed very different but belonged together.  I like this one because it has the soft shells in it and some razzle dazzle.  Both are beautiful in their own way.
Donna Vines

Shells and Bling