breadkenty asked: Hi Tony, I’m trying to recreate something similar to Edward Steichen’s Gum over Platinum prints for his Camera Work/Vogue Fashion prints. I really like the sharp details that the Platinum print offer with the grain of gum prints over it but I am looking for an alternative to Platinum printing that wont be as expensive. I was thinking Van Dyke but do you have any previous experiences with Gum over Van Dyke or any other processes outside of Cyanotype? If so, what color paint would be best for gum?
I did a lot of Van Dyke before I started doing Gum–but, I haven’t tried Gum over Van Dyke. Although, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. As far as color, in prints of the “Flat Iron Building” and “The Pond, Moonlit” Steichen often used cool colors (i.e. blues, greens etc.) to compliment the brown of the Van Dyke. That might be a good place to start. Tony
Tony Gonzalez is an artist currently living in New York City. He received his BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art and his MFA from Yale University. In addition to working as a fine art photographer, Gonzalez has taught photography for 30 years including at The Cooper Union, Pratt Institute and New York University. Since 2002, Gonzalez has been teaching full-time at Queens College, CUNY and is currently a Tenured Professor and Deputy Chair of the Photography & Imaging program. Gonzalez is a contributing author for The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Second Edition and Third Edition by Christopher James and is featured most recently in the news book Gum Printing, A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice by Christina Z. Anderson and Alternate Processes in Photography by Brian Arnold.
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