Joan Giannecchini has taken a process as old as the daguerreotype -- painting on photographs -- and updated it by employing an array of modern materials and her own studio technique, meticulously crafted over more than twenty years. The resulting artwork is a startling cross between photography and painting. She begins by photographing the tomatoes in black and white to fix their form in reality. In underexposing the negative and overexposing the print, a photograph is produced which resembles a fine graphite rendering, delicate enough to allow light to come through the paint. Pigment is then applied by "floating" successive layers of transparent watercolor onto the paper, building up the deep, rich color and texture associated with organic matter. This "floating" process is crucial because unlike watercolor paper, photographic paper is not designed to absorb paint. And, contrary to traditional watercolor, the pigment must remain strictly "within the lines". The result, a skilful blend of technical discipline and artistic freedom, provides the work with its inner tension between verisimilitude and interpretation.

Each 8" x 8" piece is a handpainted original, in watercolor and oil on black and white photograph, printed on 100% rag matte paper.

 

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