Karen G. Schulman - Fine Art Photography

Hand painted images

Karen’s hand painted black and white images portray a surrealism in both her land and underwater images. Her fine art images are currently in many private and corporate collections, including those of Graham Nash and the Agfa Corporation.

“I love to hand color my favorite images. It gives me the freedom to create a vision of the way I see the world. I get involved with each image as I am working with it. For that period of time I am there, in the photograph, and I am experiencing it in a new way. I am able to personalize it by altering the colors and adding textures to suit my mood or feelings at the time.”

Film, Paper & Technique:
For many of my images I use Kodak High Speed Infrared B & W film. I prefer to work on Agfa Classic 118 paper (previously Agfa Portriga 118). I apply Marshall’s Photo Oils with cotton swabs and loose cotton rolled into balls. I then rub down the painted area until a “wash” of the colors I desire are achieved. I highlight or add depth to certain areas of the print with the use of oil based pencils or oil pastels. With certain images where I wish to show more texture, I will use sable brushes of various widths, as they are appropriate. When the piece “feels” complete, the print is allowed to air dry. I usually do not pre-treat the print, but if there are large areas of sea or sky I may use PM Solution before applying the oils. I prefer to work by instinct, as Developing the Art of Seeing is a lifelong process.