Gum and water color

Four and six color gum images with tube pigments resemble early 1900s postcards in color space.

I was briefly able to use a trial of Pantone Hexachrome color separating software for six color separations. If I had another shot, I’d dial down the maximum amount of ink coverage in the plates (negatives). It’s usually between 320-340% ink coverage in a standard offset 4c sheet fed setup. Using this software for handmade images with variable coatings of gum and watercolor is a difficult hack to get right. Several of the six color tests washed off in the final layers. The mushroom test print had most of the lamp black layer wash off.

Each print is an original hand-made work of art created in a limited edition. The works have been shown in a variety of museums and galleries in the North Eastern United States.

The gum bichromate pinhole images are part of a larger series of full-color lensless images that were created with a variety of high-quality watercolor pigments.

The printing process

Size, coat, make notes, register, expose, wash, repeat.

Gum arabic, potassium dichromate,
and watercolor pigments