Photos make your prints more personal

When I use self portraits or photos of my nephews in my art the work always has more meaning to me.

It can be a challenge to get a photo that is good for making a stencil. That is why I take lots of photos. And if I get one or two that will be good for printmaking the that is a success.

I miss plenty of fleeting photos because I don’t have my camera ready. But that is really not a problem because my eyes are always seeing shapes, shadows and subjects. And maybe next time I will have my camera ready to capture the image.

I did sketches of the photos. You could do tracings of the photo as well

The traditional “hole” stencil on the left, a layered print in the middle and the masking stencil on the right.

If you are interested in using your own photos to make more personal art then:

1. Carry you camera with you all the time
2. See shapes and shadows
3. Take lots of pictures
4. Be willing to have just 1 or 2 good photos out of many
5. Print out a silhouette/shape/image
6. Just jump in and cut a stencil
7. If it is not perfect or as you imagine, then adjust or try again.

I really liked this shadow.  I had a challenge converting it to a stencil that I liked as much. I had to add some sort of feet and adjust the shoulders.

You might be able to see the adjustments I made in the blue and orange print on the left. So sometimes your photo will be a jumping off or starting place for the final product.

If you would like to explore stencil making, including using your own photos as reference materials, then join us in the 4 week online art making class, Make Stencils Workshop. Class starts July 30th. READ the details on the workshop page.

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from Linda Germain https://www.lindagermain.com/2018/07/photos-make-your-prints-more-personal/

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