Jill Skupin Burkholder is a practitioner of one of the oldest and most painterly of the photographic processes, the bromoil process. This process is cherished for its intensive hand-worked qualities and rich texture. In this show, Jill presents a series that begins with a bleached silver print and ends with a romanticized pictorial version of the image artistically interpreted using a brush and lithography ink.

Jill began working with photography in 1985. She studied both traditional and digital photography and experimented with various alternative photography techniques.
She learned the bromoil process from Gene Laughter, a photographer who resurrected the technique by studying historical writings and interviewing members of The Bromoil Circle of Great Britain. The bromoil process begins with a bleached silver print and ends with a romanticized pictorial version of the image artistically interpreted using a brush and lithography ink.

Recently Jill has been producing magical prints using the encaustic method, which goes as far back as the 5th century B.C., where color-pigmented beeswax is melted, applied to a surface and reheated to fuse the image into a smooth or textured finish.

Jill has taught many workshops and her works are held in collections throughout the world, including the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, Texas and The Center for Photography at Woodstock, New York. She is married to fine art photographer and digital pioneer, Dan Burkholder and lives in Palenville, New York.

The Bromoil Process Technique
The bromoil print starts as a dark, overexposed silver gelatin print that is processed conventionally. This print is dried and bleached to remove the metallic silver, resulting in a faint, bluish-gray ghost image. The print is again dried. This bleached print is soaked in water where the gelatin absorbs water in proportion to the light and dark areas. The artist then uses brushes to apply oil-based lithographic inks to reconstruct the image. These soaking and inking steps are repeated to give the final print its richness and delicacy.

Jill's exquisite prints must be viewed in person to get the full appreciation of them.  We have many of her prints in stock and on display at sun to moon gallery.  You'll be intrigued seeing the subtle texture of this ink on paper technique.

Jill describes some of her newest work...

"The empty houses, businesses and schools of New Orleans hold a quiet stillness that's deceptive. The powerful story can be seen in the objects and belongings left behind. My hope is that these images become part of your understanding of the post-Katrina reality and that they will contribute to a spirit of awareness and compassion."

"Junk stores and warehouses are full of abandoned treasures that tell forgotten stories. Sometimes the collections of the unrelated are fascinating pictures of what we leave behind. Stale symbols and icons huddle together sadly approaching the day when no one remembers their meaning. My series The Forgotten shows them making a last stand, testing our memory and challenging us to find them a new purpose."

Come see examples of these unique treasures at sun to moon gallery.

SUN TO MOON GALLERY HOME

Sun to Moon Gallery
1515 Levee Street
Dalals, TX 75207

Phone 214.745.1199