Re: black vs. color inks and gum

Yves Gauvreau wrote:
> Katharine,
>
> In a way I found an interesting path I would have like to wonder on but
> unfortunately it's a dead end at least considering that I want to do
> everthing myself or at least the largest possible part of it.
>
> I came across a book a little while back, almost by accident, at the
> library. The title is in french "La couleur du temps, Photographies de
> Leonard Misonne" Most if not all of the work presented in this book is made
> on Fresson paper which is a proprietary technique. This is why I said it's a
> dead end above. But, his work speaks to me in words I can't begin to express
> (especially in English) and I'd like very much to be able to do a similar
> kind of work.
>
> His work is of the pictoralist mouvement of the early 1900's and I'd like to
> find a way to achieve similar results of color richness, of color depth and
> of many other intangible that make Fresson a Fresson using a technique that
> as a similar potential and caracteristics. I have no intention to even try
> to duplicate his work in any way but I certainly would like my work to be as
> expressive as his, to develop a similar style and try to achieve similar
> colors and texture in my prints. I can certainly dream my print would be
> recognized simply by looking at them and exposed everywhere...
>
> Enough dreaming, I know the road ahead may not be as pleasant as in my dream
> but I'm sure it will be rewarding at some point. My first investigations
> where around the carbon process or variation on the theme as you could say.
> The technique seems to offer most of the caracteristics I appreciate in
> Misonne's work but it as also some disadvantages, I assume I could say the
> same of any technique.
>
> To a certain extent gum prints could suit the bill as well except maybe for
> the dynamic range of single gum print which maybe way to low to show the
> welt of tonalities that I which for. I have read all of your pages by now
> and I think I would need to do multiprints to reach the tonal range I'd like
> but I don't yet quite understand how it's done. I think I have lots of
> reading to do before I decide on anything, I don't want to close any option
> at this time and I'll keep an open mind.
>
> Thanks again for sharing your work with us. I feel like I'm a bit like you
> for some stuff especially I wouldn't like to be prisonner of a rigid set of
> rules and techniques where there is no room for imagination and having a
> good time. Life is so short...
>
> Regards
> Yves
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Katharine Thayer" <kthayer@pacifier.com>
> To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 6:10 PM
> Subject: Re: black vs. color inks and gum
>
>
>
>>On Nov 15, 2005, at 8:52 AM, Yves Gauvreau wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Katharine,
>>>
>>>I went to your site and after reading a few pages and seeing most of
>>>your
>>>work there which is very impressive at least to my taste. I can say
>>>that you
>>>kind of confirm the thought that was beginning to form in my mind. Be
>>>it gum
>>>printing or whatever other tools an artist uses to express him or
>>>herself
>>>it's the results that count. I think Ansel Adams said it much better
>>>then I
>>>ever could when he wrote something like this: the negative is like the
Hi,

Butting in, but let me refer you to

http://users.skynet.be/philippe.berger/

who covers most processes and is in French..

Regards

David H

>>>music
>>>sheet and the print is the performance. When you think like that it
>>>make a
>>>world of difference.
>>>
>>>I interpret what you said in your overview page to be very similar in
>>>essence to what Adams said. I could go on and elaborate on this topic
>>>but
>>>I've learned it is futile to try convincing someone who thinks
>>>technique is
>>>everything, which is not your case obviously. I confess that I forget
>>>this
>>>much to often but I forgive myself most of the times.
>>>
>>>Thanks for sharing your work and your thoughts with us.
>>>
>>
>>Yves,
>>You're most welcome, and thanks for the note. Yes, for me technique
>>isn't an end in itself but only a path to the goal, and in gum there
>>are many paths to many goals. Good luck on finding your path, whether
>>it's gum or carbon or whatever,
>>Katharine
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Wed Nov 16 05:01:22 2005