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:
- Carry you camera with you all the time
- See shapes and shadows
- Take lots of pictures
- Be willing to have just 1 or 2 good photos out of many
- Print out a silhouette/shape/image
- Just jump in and cut a stencil
- 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 printmaking methods, check out the current workshops.