Re: bromoil boot camp
What did you use for brushes? I'm slowly exploring oil printing and have been trying a variety of locally available brushes. The old literature I've read suggest people used very specialized brushes. Did you use anything special? Gord On Saturday 25 August 2007 06:22:26 pm zphoto@montana.net wrote: > Dear All, > I am finally done with my wonderful 2 weeks in the North > Carolina mountains--at Penland > School where David Lewis taught a bromoil intensive. > > First, the school is excellent--the food, a full 3 meals a > day, is worth the stay. It is out in the middle of buck > nowhere, so the chance to do your art full time is perfect. > Most of us 10 students worked from 9 AM to about midnight > every day. > > David was a trooper as well as a total HOOT. He stayed up > with us almost every night. I did notice cocktail hour out > on the patio of the photo lab getting sooner and sooner each > night as the group warmed up to one another! > > All 10 of us got "exhibition" quality bromoils in that span > of time--in fact most of us got about 10-15 prints done to > satisfaction. We learned to start small and work up to > bigger ones. I learned in several days enough to leave the > workshop and feel I got my money's worth. I really enjoyed > David's dedication to teaching us. Of course, I started > experimenting around with all kinds of Chrissie-techniques > heheheheheh...no wonder he had to start cocktail hour early. > > One ingenious thing i will share with the group--he hit upon > Kirkland Ink Jet Paper available at Costco as being a > perfect digital negative substrate for bromoil. I thought > it might be less sharp or whatnot (show paper fibers, etc.) > but I'll be darned--I calibrated bromoil while there on an > Epson 1280 printer (I missed my 2400) a la PDN, got a curve, > exposure time at F8 was about 26 seconds at the enlarger > height I was using (135mm lens) so certainly times were not > excessive. The bromoils were as sharp as ever. And in the > span of time I could print out 20 (!) different digital > negatives and go in the darkroom, press the enlarger button > for a 26 second exposure and develop, the others were > dinking around with one image or two and test strips. A > plug for digital. > > At 17 cents a sheet of 8.5x11 this is a STEAL compared to > Pictorico. David is going to try to see if the manufacturer > would produce bigger sizes of this substrate, but the name > of the manufacturer is not on the box except that the > company is in Switzerland. > > One more thing--those with limited resources can apply to > assist at Penland and get room and board and the workshop > for free. I will not say it is easy--I am pretty > exhausted--but the price is right. You can also work-study > there for a session and the same applies but the much > cushier position is teaching assistant because you do not > miss classtime to prepare meals and such as the work-study > students have to. If I was younger, work study would be > fine. Many of the people are returning students so the > experience is certainly life-changing in ways and quite > positive. > Chris > > > > Assistant Professor of Photography > Photography Option Coordinator > Montana State University > College of Arts and Architecture > Department of Media and Theatre Arts, Room 220 > P.O. Box 173350 > Bozeman, MT 59717-3350 > Tel (406) 994 6219 > CZAphotography.com
|