OK, now this is a personal thing. I am a photographer, not an artist. I try to do artistic photography and be creative in my work but that does not make me an artist. Picasso was an artist, Monet was an artist, some of the students I taught photography to are artists. An artist starts with a blank canvas and from their minds they create an image. Artists believe that primary colors are red, blue, green and yellow. They teach this to children in grade school. Photographers use light. They understand that human beings have red, blue and green receptors (cones) in their eyes. There are no yellow cones in your eyes. Photographers understand that yellow along with cyan and magenta are subtractive primaries and the basics of printing ink or toner on paper.

It must be magical to have the skill to look at a piece of canvas and use a brush to paint an image. I tried it in school and I sucked. The only thing I have ever painted that I liked is this image. I used Doctor Martins Dyes and brushes to hand color a monochrome print. It took forever! I never tried hand tinting again and went back to the camera, darkroom and now lightroom where I belong. You can see other images and buy apparel and prints at my commercial gallery.

Hand Colored Junior Miss Contestants