How long to wait before framing hand colored photos?

[Worker 11811]

I made a hand colored print, last night, and it's on my dining room table, drying as we speak.

How long should it dry before framing?

I used Prismacolor pencils then blended them using a damp brush. After that dried, I used a mixture of poppyseed oil and distilled turpentine on a cotton swab to blend the color down into the emulsion.
It looks good... or, at least as good as I can make it given my skill level.

Next step: framing.

I figure I should wait at least a day before framing to let the oil and turpentine dry. Do you think it needs to dry longer?

(P.S. On my next iteration of this project, I plan to get some Marshall's Photo Dye or some Dr. Ph Martin's Syncromatic Dye, depending on what I can find on line or buy in the stores but that's for later.)

 

[tkamiya]

I do the same with Prismacolor pencils on matte FB paper. I blend mine with turpentine + vegetable oil mixture, so it's about the same process.

I typically wait overnight before framing. Sometimes, additional oil comes to surface and require LIGHT buffing by dry cotton pads.

I let it sit over a month before just to see what happens but after the initial drying which basically is turpentine evaporating, it doesn't seem to change much at all. The surface remain delicate. If I have to store it somewhere, I cover it with paper. One thing I learned NOT to do is to let anything like plastic touch the surface. The precipitating oil will do a number on it.

 

[tkamiya]

Oh, by the way, the color is mostly on surface, not soaked into emulsion or paper. I can say that as even after a month, I can take the color off by a simple plastic eraser. This is why I said the image is delicate. Apparently, it just sits on top.....

 

[eddie]

I never add turpentine, or oil, to my hand-colored prints. Anything that's in the air (pollen/dust/etc.) will stick to it.
When using pencils, I blend them in with typewriter erasers. The eraser smooths out the texture, while slightly intensifying the color.

Randy- You might try oil paint, rather than the dyes. Much easier to work with. I have a bunch of examples in the Gallery, and on my website, if you'd like to see the results I get without additives.

 

[Worker 11811]

I used water first then let it dry because just oil/turpentine washed away the pencil too much. Even just a drop of the mixture on a Q-Tip messed it up. Using water first evened out the color and allowed the oil to blend the color without making a mess.

The area that is colored is only about as big as a silver dollar in the center of an 11x14 print.
The paper is Ilford MGIV FB matte finish.

I let the area dry for a while, until the visible sheen subsided, then went over it with a paper blending stick, the kind people use to blend pastels. As of now, the surface is mostly dry. The surface is slightly glossier than the surrounding area. Touching it, lightly, with a clean finger, it feels a bit waxy but it seems to be dry, as far as I can tell. Aftre drying overnight, the turpentine smell is pretty faint.

I think I'll give it anohter day to dry befire I start framing. I have to go shopping for matte board, anyhow and I won't be able to get to the store until tomorrow.

Yes, I think I'll look for some oil colors when I do my next project. I used the pencils because I had them on-hand and I read about this method in a book. it works well but it just doesn't quite produce the look I had in mind when I conceived the idea.

I read that Marshall's makes a kit for hand coloring and I also heard about Dr. Martin's Synchromatic Dye. I think I can get Dr. Martin's locally.

So far, I have achieved satisfacroty results for my first time out but, as always, I'm trying to get better.

 

[eddie]

Randy- Any oil paint will work. It doesn't have to be Marshall's. Pick up a few tubes of some cheap oils, at your local art supply place. A bunch of Q-Tips, and cotton balls, and you're ready to go...

 

[tkamiya]

I used water first then let it dry because just oil/turpentine washed away the pencil too much. Even just a drop of the mixture on a Q-Tip messed it up. Using water first evened out the color and allowed the oil to blend the color without making a mess.

You can control that by adjusting the ratio of turpentine and oil. Too much oil, it will be too greasy. Too much turpentine, it will erase color more than leave it. When you get it just right, the color will dissolve and create a wash of color which you can smooth and spread it around. You will need VERY little of this on your q-tip. Barely there might still be too much. I struggled with this for quite a while but once I got a hang of it, it works very nicely.

This is a method I learned from a book written by Ms. Laurie Klein (an authority on hand-coloring) and I was in communication with her for a little while.

 

[Worker 11811]

You can control that by adjusting the ratio of turpentine and oil...

I'll work on it some more. The picture I was working on went to the gallery today. It turned out pretty well.
Over the summer, I'll have a chance to replace that picture. Either it will sell or I'll be allowed to rotate it out with a new one. I'll use the time in between to work on my technique. I'm hopeful that the next one will be even better!

This is a method I learned from a book written by Ms. Laurie Klein (an authority on hand-coloring) and I was in communication with her for a little while.

That's the book I got the idea from, too. It's a good book. However, it only talks about technical details in the first chapter. The rest is mostly stylistic. This is good but I need to get my technique down pat before I get into the detailed stuff.

Story time:
One of the guys in my club was razzing me because I don't make color photos. I walked in with the back of the frame facing out and said, "You complained because I never make color photos." I spun it around and showed it to them, "Here you go!" Guffaws all around.

 

[Dan Dozer]

For my coloring with prisma color pencils, I put down the blending solution first and just use Marshall's P.M. Solution. The bottle says that the ingrediants are D-Limonene and vegatable oils. The solution will "leak" out beyond the area you want to color with the pencils, but that's OK. The solution has a "working time" and you need to wait just a little bit (maybe a minute or two) before putting down your pencil color. As the solution is soaking into the paper, there is about a 4 - 5 minute window where the colors will blend nicely all by themselves. After that, the blending doesn't work quite as well. I routinely work with several different colors at a time. You only really need to let the print dry for a little while before you can clean up the edges. I again use Marshall's Marlene solution and it easily takes off the excess P.M. Solution. After that, the print is essentially done.

Because of the short working time of the solution, you should only apply the P. M. Solution to a small portion of the print at a time - probably an area about 2" - 3" square at the most is what I work with. Otherwise, you'll just be re-coating the print again with more solution.

For what it's worth - I don't like working with Marshall's Oils at all. I don't like the look of the colors (to thin and transparent) and they take a long time to dry. I find that the Prisma Color pencils are very easy to work with.