Alternative Processes

Although I use varying techniques, my main process is gum bichromate over cyanotype. Gum bichromate is a hands-on and tedious process using ammonium or potassium dichromate, gum arabic, and watercolor pigment that is mixed and brushed on top of watercolor paper. Each image consists of one (monochrome) or three (cyan, magenta, and yellow) negatives that are placed individually on top of the dried chemical mixture and then exposed beneath ultraviolet light. Once exposed, the paper is submerged and developed in water and hung to dry. That process continues again and again with each individual color until I’m satisfied - usually about 11 layers. Oftentimes, I’ll do some hand tinting with photo oils or watercolor pencils atop mono- or tri-chromes for some extra flair. Each print takes about a week, produces beautifully unexpected and painterly results, and is a labor of love.

Print of laundry hanging next to a house and field of flowers

Print of blue cookie cutter houses with legs draped over one of them

Print of laundry hanging next to a black cat and field of flowers

Print of the goddess Eros wearing a long gown and holding a golden apple inscribed "Kallisti"

Print of a girl in front of a movie theater with posters plastered on the wall, she's sitting on the ground reading magazines

Print of a musician playing an upright bass inside of a birdcage, while his bigger self is holding the cage staring at him

Print of a musician wearing a cloud suit balanced crystal balls on his fists, surrounded by a vibrant underwater backdrop

Print of a patterned sky background with giant hands between telephones, telephone cables intertwined in the hands like the child's game "cat's cradle"

Print of a grandfather clock with a tea party inside of it

Print of a girl in the bathroom, scissors in hand from recently cutting her hair, vanity photos of models surround her

Print of a girl standing in front of the Hollywood sign, a suitcase in her hand

Print of a girl standing in front of her apartment window, Los Angeles before her, the Hollywood sign in the background, endless bottles of alcohol surround her

Print of a figure sitting in the Los Angeles figure waiting for something

Print of a poster for the band, Deaf Dance. In a desert scene, one figure holds a spotted balloon, the other sits on an old chest.