Oak in Encaustic

This is a photo that I hve reproduced before on photo paper.  I used it in a encaustic process.  The finish and soft imakge makes for a pretty cool effect.  24x36

B& W iphone art

A new encaustic painting in my continuing series of designs created with iphone app.  The designs are printed digitally on watercolor paper , then enhanced with encaustic wax and oils.  

Gallery view

New works on the gallery walls

iphone ART

I created these designs using an iphone and a drawing app that i downloaded for free.  I am trying to embrace the technology at my fingertips.  whenever I am bored or sitting in front of the tube I turn on the iphone and paint away.  After the design is done I print out on archival watercolor paper and paint with beeswax.  I enhance the designs using oil pigment, oil pastels, and soft pastels.  Finish the painting off by framing in shadow box framing

More Encaustic Photos

Continuing with the Coconut theme, I have been creating a group of photos with various items as still life elements.  I rework the photos quite a bit using encaustic layers and oil paints and pastels.  The results are photos with a real dreamy or ethereal quality.  I am really liking this process and am onto more...

Coconut Encaustic Photographs

11x14 "CocoNuts"  archival inkjet, encaustic, graphite.

This is the completed piece that is depicted in the Gelatin transfer video below.  An Antique ceiling tile is used to support and act as a frame for the photograph of a Bicycle on the streets of Florence Italy

How to make a Gelatin transfer onto tin ceiling tile

This all you need to know to make a gelatin photo transfer.  The surface I am applying it to is an antique ceiling tile that I found at the dump.

A Day At the Office

A day in the Life of a Printer

This is a photo transfer on solid zinc plate.  This Archival process can transfer photographs to a number of different surfaces.  You can view a number of these at my website  www.jamesharter.com file under the Gelatin Transfer Gallery

A great way to display original artwork or canvas art prints (giclees)  is to mount them in floater frames.  The floater frames give a real contemporary feel to artwork.  We make custom floater frames in natural wood or a satin black finish.  You can just specify the sizeof the art, and we will make any size to fit.  The frames come with the attaching hardware.  The floater frames come in two sizes:  the regular 3/4" to accomodate stand canvas, or deep profile for 1 1/2  gallery type canvas.  The above photograph features printed giclee artwork by Loretta Mcnair framed in the natural 3/4" regular floater frames.  It is truely an economical way to display artwork professionally

This is a new process that I have been experimenting with.  I take photographs and apply them to antique tin ceiling tiles.  The process involves mixing a gelatin base and transfering digital images.  After the gelatin evaporates, the image is permanently adhered with the acrylic binders that are added to the gelatins.  It is a pretty amazing process that can be used on a variety of surfaces.  I will be doing a video of the process shortly.

Here is a spectacular print that I recently completed for Wally Pacholka, an award winning photographer.  Wally has had several photos published in the National Geographic Magazine, including the Photo of the Year.  Wally has created several large prints that are Gallery wrapped around the sides.

I am often asked what is the optimum way to capture a digital image of art to make a fine art reproduction on canvas or paper. If you use a camera (except a possibly a NASA camera) there is always going to be distance and atmosphere that affects the image.  Not to mention, most cameras will not create a large enough file to enlarge the size of prints.  A high resolution scanner is going to give sharper images and greater range of color.  I think the above photo gives an accurate depiction of this.  The camera image was created with an expensive Nikon D700 camera.

This is a new post just to see if the blog is working