Photographs over Watercolor Paintings, David Arnold
Closely following the first practical processes for photography were attempts to expand the range of tones available for photography. The collection Photographs over Watercolor Paintings extends the experimental traditions of hand-applied color to photographic prints. Each image begins with an under-painting of watercolor on untreated hot press watercolor paper. After drying, the painting is fed through an archival digital printer and the photograph is printed upon it, creating a composite of painting and photograph. The overprinting of the Ultrachrome ink jet print suppresses photographic details and at the same time generates chance connections, mixing printing pigments with watercolor pigments.
Photographs over Watercolor Paintings challenges the dividing line between paintings and photographs and questions the illusion of the photograph through the integration of digital print technologies with subtleties of hand applied watercolors. Photographs over Watercolor Paintings merges the competing processes of painting and photography to match and contrast the compositional forces present in the original photograph. The watercolor application mimics, challenges and ultimately plays with the photograph.
The presence of the past is what gives any photograph its special fascination. Ever captivated by what we see, the presence of photographs grip us with the urgency of what would otherwise be lost had not the photographers been present with their cameras. Photographs over Watercolor Paintings questions the certainty of the photograph, challenging the illusion of solidity present in the surface of the photograph.
Photographs over Watercolor Paintings challenges the dividing line between paintings and photographs and questions the illusion of the photograph through the integration of digital print technologies with subtleties of hand applied watercolors. Photographs over Watercolor Paintings merges the competing processes of painting and photography to match and contrast the compositional forces present in the original photograph. The watercolor application mimics, challenges and ultimately plays with the photograph.
The presence of the past is what gives any photograph its special fascination. Ever captivated by what we see, the presence of photographs grip us with the urgency of what would otherwise be lost had not the photographers been present with their cameras. Photographs over Watercolor Paintings questions the certainty of the photograph, challenging the illusion of solidity present in the surface of the photograph.
