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

 
 

Good Harbor Beach

Looking at some more hand painted photos I thought it would be interesting to post some New England scenes.  This is Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, MA.  It is one of the most popular beaches in Glouceste, especially with the locals. 
One one side you have to walk over a bridge from the road to get to the beach and the bridge goes over a natural inlet that the kids love.  It is a shallow, safe place for the little ones to play and the water is not as cold.
You can see the creek on the right in this photo. 
Donna Vines

Good Harbor Beach