TROPICAL SANTA | Niki Butcher

Estero Island © 1990

Photographic Story What would Christmas in Florida be like without Santa’s surfboard and pretty pink plastic flamingos? It’s a tough job, but Tropical Santa is happy to model in this holiday beach scene. We had a lot of fun and many laughs staging this portrait under a palm tree. “Merry Christmas to all, and may you all have good light!” – Niki and Clyde Butcher The Art of Hand Painting Black and White Photographs Niki prints her images on fiber-base black and white mat surface paper in the darkroom, then using Q-tips and cotton balls, she applies a thin coat of oil paint over the surface allowing the image to gently be seen through the oil paint. Archival Print Making Niki’s open edition gicleé artwork is printed on Sunset Bright Velvet Rag matte finish paper using eight archival inks. A state-of-the-art Epson Stylus Pro printer creates deep, rich dark values that hold subtle detail in the shadows as well as bright vivid colors that are truly tropical.