How did I get so busy? Leaving the corporate world behind and becoming a full time artist was suppose to open up all kinds of time. Time to create, time to build, time to experiment and time for my family. But somehow, the work has expanded to fill the hours until I am more busy (and more physically tired) than I have been in years.

In a way it feels like when we had our children in the house. Every day was a whirlwind of activity and it seemed like you just got up but it is actually time for bed. Then, it was time to get up when you could have used a few more hours of sleep.

I think the parallels are accurate. When you are raising a family you are engaging in the most demanding creative process possible. The future is riding on how well you nurture those children and on how well you develop their values and abilities. Making art is the same process, thankfully with lower stakes. Can you capture the vision in your mind? Will your pieces do good in the world; will they bring joy to others? Is your vision shared by others or will you have to go it alone?

Of course, there is also the nagging question of whether you would be better off just getting a “real” job again! So far, the answer is “no” and I’ll keep working away!

The print above is a gold chloride salt print. The negative is 35mm film and I took it a few Winters ago. Even in the deepest frosty Winter new buds are ready for a return of Spring. It is a hopeful image and will be one of the prints I have for sale at Appleton’s Art in The Park in July.

See more Salt Prints or my current Portfolio

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I have not had time to work on my darkroom. But the printing business is good. Here is one of a set of salt prints of skis for sale in an antique shop. Total run of 4 prints. The original is a 35mm film negative that I took in some antique shop a few years ago. I really love this composition. This is an 8×10 inch print, on archival 140lb paper.

This is one of four prints I made this weekend – snowing all the time so I had to do something for fun! I used a new (to me) salted albumin coating (size) and am very happy with the results. There is a very nice satin sheen on the print which doesn’t show very well on the photograph.

Also pictured is one of my new print presses. I was tired of the “stack of books” method to flatten my prints so I picked up some 3/4in birch plywood to make some presses. This press is big enough for 9×14 inch prints. I have several extras which will be going up for sale. I also made a couple of bigger presses for up to 11×17 inches. Email me if you are interested in buying a press jeff@sunandsilver.photo

Why make extras? Well, the plywood pricing for a full sheet was less than double the pricing for a quarter sheet. So effectively the wood cost was less than half if I picked up a whole sheet. I don’t have much storage so cutting the extra wood in to more presses.

See more of my Salt Print Portfolio

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Ice boats race across Lake Winnebago Ice. An 8x10in salt print.

This print is an experiment with a new coating / sizing formula. I used powdered egg whites for the albumin instead of cracking a bunch of eggs. The powder is a bit less expensive (no wasted yolks) and a lot less work. The coating gives a really nice matte finish to the print, even though it is hard to see in the picture.

Residual egg yolks were a big problem back in the heyday of albumin based photography and prints. So the producers came up with a lot of nice recipes for using the egg yolks. Yolk Pound Cake, Lemon Curd, Vanilla Ice Cream and Creme Brulee

I will be making 8 more of this image and all of the prints will be for sale soon!

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Happy birthday to my Ibanez Artist Electric Guitar! She turned 40 this year. Here is a salt print of my favorite guitar. She has a lot of mileage and the wear and tear to prove it. However, she is just as sweet to play now as when I picked her up 39 years ago. I was the 2nd owner. My acquisition will remain private to protect innocent parties in my long forgotten past.

Her body is a sunburst maple with gold plated hardware. She is an AR300 model but has the tail of the AR 305. Not sure how that happened… She has a carved flame maple top. She has 3-way switches on the pickups for humbucher, single coil and reverse phase.

One notable thing about the Artist is the heaviest electric guitar I have ever played! Have to use a 4 inch wide strap to keep my shoulder from collapsing. This advantage is sustain forever and she stays in tune for months at a time.

She has gold hardware but the gold has taken a beating over the years due to my acetic personality and “hot” playing.

That is what is truly amazing to me. For 39 years I have been making music with this instrument. I am no “guitar hero” but can play good enough to please a crowd. I wonder how many thousands of songs have come out of her and how many (thousands?) people I have entertained over the years. Of course, probably been more than a few who have not enjoyed my music – Turn that down!!! But as the saying goes…

Those who loved me

Loved me well.

Those who didn’t

Can go to hell!

Read more about the Ibanez Artist AR300

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A salt print of a panorama from Death Valley, California. Death Valley is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Around every corner is something new and different. Maybe when God finished the world he had a bunch of spare parts (I always do when I work on a project). So He just dumped some of them here!

Asylum Point Lighthouse – a Salt Print.

Warm Summer days are a perfect time to make salt prints of Winter scenes. This 35mm film photography was made last Winter. Asylum Point Lighthouse is on a small island on Lake Winnebago, just North of Oshkosh. The point is named after the Northern Asylum for the Insane which once stood on the grounds of the park. There are also 244 unmarked graves on the site!

This is an 8×10″ print and is one of a set of three available for purchase – Prints For Sale

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It was a great day for producing salt prints! Sunny and not too many clouds. I think late August must have great UV light because I made four really beautiful prints. The original is a picture from a trip to Death Valley, California, a few years ago. A father and son outing and we had a magical time. I have literally hundreds of great shots and could spend years making prints. Well, there is always tomorrow!

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Want to own one of my timeless traditional prints? Click here to see all my Prints for Sale

An 8x10in Salt Print. This was created from a picture in the Grand Canyon. I have been there so many times and every trip is an amazing experience. While famous for the spectacular views the canyon also offers interesting vignettes if you take the time to look around.

This plaque is from Psalm 68, I like the ESV version:

Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
    exult before him!

This print will be available for sale as soon as I get it protected with bees wax varnish – see more Prints For Sale

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My first salt print!

Salt printing was one of the first successful photographic processes. Salt printing was invented by Henry Fox Talbot in the 1830’s. The basic process is the foundation of film photography still used today.

I am so proud of this print and think it is amazing (probably amazingly lucky) that I was able to get this good of a result on my first try!

Newer prints have gone up in quality dramatically – but this will always be special as it was my first!

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A new salt print of wild horses in Colorado. This is my twelfth salt print and I think I am getting the recipe down now! The range of tones (from black to white) is very pleasing to my eye. I also have a nice mid range contrast so that a lot of small details are very clear. The coating is nice and even and I even like the “live” edge.

This is an 8×10 print and will be going up for sale shortly. Serial #1 will be hanging on my office wall!

You can see an earlier print in wide format at Wild Horses. This is a crop for an 8×10 focusing on the horses closest to us.

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