"Jars in the Window" ~ Finished

This third print iteration of Jars in the Window is now finished.  Truly done. As I have mentioned ad nauseum about gum printing, there is no boundary, no standard for which to determine when a print is finished, outside of the printer staring at it long enough to determine if there is anything, at all, that can be added to the print to improve it. If the answer comes back that it is the image that was pre-visualized, and best effort that can be made at the time of the printing, it's done. I had done some testing with the sizing, including this print. I altered the gelatin sizing from 2 1/2% to 2%.

It is obvious from seeing the differences between the three printed versions of this image that each one is quite a bit different from the rest. What would also be seen is that each print is iteration is an improvement from the last. The colors are whatever they may be in a final print, of course derived from the very colors stacked during the printing. Getting a finished image is one thing when printing a gum. A capable gum printer can do that. That is capturing the likeness of a subject or scene. Good as that can be. For me, it is capturing the "essence" of the subject or scene's lighting, which should reflect the lighting as it was. It is capturing the light that for me, makes the gum print. I am still learning the subtle character of that task.

This gum print was eight effective print layers, with two partial layering mostly affecting shadow color. The effect I was after in this image was the light coming through the window, reflecting off the walls of the room, as well as capture the brilliance of the direct sunlight outside the window. The densities outside the window are three times that of the interior. That had to be bridged, and printed to just the edge of the light to have it remaining after floating. Each new gum print is a little bit better than the last. That is all one can hope for.

Gum  Dichromate Print
"Jars in the Window" ~ 8x10 ~ Unique