Finished newest piece – Untitled

Posted on March 31, 2018

AH! I’m finally done with this piece!  It’s not perfect, but I love it b/c of that. It took me 4 attempts at printing this to finally get it right.  Platinum printing isn’t the cheapest, but it’s worth it.  I skipped too many steps b/c I wanted to get it done, and in the end it cost me lots of money and time!  Boo.  Oh well, I learned my lesson.

I had so much fun with this photoshoot.  One more main image is in the works still, but 1 down 1 to go. These pieces in “Twin Elements” take me about 3-4 months to create from beginning to end.  Luckily, I have 2 more shoots in the next few months to make and I’m psyched b/c I’ll have lots to work with.

Here’s Chancy Cone Oliver doing hair and Rhea McCarter Craft fixing makeup on Meredith.  They’re wonderful!  I don’t know what I’d do without their beauty and expertise.  Adore Makeup Boutique + Salon.
And thank you to my wonderful friend and assistant, Christa Blackwood who is a fabulous photographer and artist.
Meredith and Leah are my gorgeous twin models.  They were very patient with me!  Both twins are hairdressers which I thought was very fitting!

I had the idea to create something that felt surreal and had the feminine quality of Gustav Klimt’s (Artsy.net) work.  I’ve always been a huge admirer of his and I love the way his subjects pop off the paper yet blend in with his background.  I believe I’ve managed to create that while maintaining my own style.

I knew I wanted trees and an early 1900’s look (and maybe 1940’s influence).  “Untitled” was the first piece in which I’ve created the background first.  Knowing that my parents have the prettiest front (and back) yard, I brought my camera to photograph these trees in Colorado, summer of 2017.  I knew ahead of time that I wanted to use it with these particular models. Usually, I photograph the girls first and then come up with the nature imagery second.

What a tough printing project!  First, I started out using silver as the backing, but there was something missing.  It was a little too cold for me.  Gold ended up being too warm.  So, like Goldilocks I chose the “just right” tone of copper.  Total of 12 prints to make it 16″x24″ (the oval section).  None of the prints match in tonality exactly, and it was driving me crazy! But I think I’ve come to the conclusion that imperfection is great and I’m rolling with it.


This is part of my process of putting it together.  I use book binding archival safe tape.  Once you get vellum wet that many times it won’t be flat again.  But it’s another quality of platinum on vellum that I’ve grown to love.

“Untitled”, (I need to come up with one!) is another view of mine on what it’s like to be a twin.  I’ve always had a very strong connection with my twin, Kathryn, while wanting to go in separate directions.  It can be slightly painful emotionally but strengthening in my own identity. I cherish my relationship with her, and such a strange thought that I’ll never have the same connection with anyone else.  I love being a twin.

Please excuse the photos, they’re just shot in the darkroom with an iPhone. I finished this yesterday, March 30, 2018, 14 days after our 40th birthday.  It’s a shame that I can’t get the quality in the printing (platinum on vellum with copper) in these photos b/c IMO they look so much better in person!

ON TO THE NEXT!!!!  Oh, what am I going to create?  SO much fun to think about.  I’m also considering putting the platinum on hold to really get my fingers wet (figuratively speaking) in Albumen printing.  I’ve attempted it once and it was so hard! But this summer I may have some time to experiment and see if the look will fit Twin Elements. My guess is that it will, I just have to get through the learning process W/O skipping steps!! LOL.

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