Hand coloring photographs is a vintage technique; originally used before color negatives became commonplace, it is often associated with picture postcards – “Greetings from…” emblazoned across the image to identify that the sender was actually present at the locale. Think of them as the progenitor of today’s cell phone “selfie” minus the self-absorption.
Judy Rosati plays on that sense of nostalgia in using the technique. Her subjects include landscapes, water scenes, landmarks, city scenes, etc. In this recent series, she traveled the upper northeast coast of the United States photographing lighthouses.
Rosati is usually very traditional in her application, so that there is little to no evidence of marks made. Yet on occasion she pushes a painterly touch. In her image of the “Lubec Lighthouse” the sky is rendered as it might be by a water colorist, the artist’s hand treading into impressionism.
“The photo paper that I use for the darkroom prints, is Ilford RC portfolio Multigrade pearl. I use Marshall photo oils and pencils to color the photos by hand. I experiment with coloring techniques and often leave black, white and gray areas to show the original photographic areas of the print.”
Rosati worked as a Jefferson County Public School art/photography teacher for 30 years, and also taught Digital Photography for 13 years in Bellarmine University’s Continuing Education program.
Rosati has been featured in many juried exhibits, many private collections, and by several professional artist organizations. She has been published in national art magazine as an award winner in the category of art photography. Locally, she participated in the 2017 and 2018 Photo Biennials.
She just completed a six-week solo exhibit of hand colored silver gelatin photographs at the Roberta Marx Gallery in Louisville, and Rosati will have a booth in the 2018 LAG Holiday Showcase.
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Education: BA in Arts education, Western KY University, MAEd Arts education, Eastern KY University, Rank I in Arts education, University of Louisville
Website: judyrosatiphotography.com
Gallery Representation: Edenside Gallery (Louisville)
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Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2018 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.