ISLAND DREAMS | Niki Butcher

Estero Island © 1985

Photographic Story Okay, it’s true…this is my dream. If I could create a perfect place to live that would satisfy my heart it would be on a beautiful island with palm trees, beach and turquoise water in my front yard. But my backyard would be a place like Big Cypress, filled with textures, creatures, swamps and an expanse of grasslands. Is there any place like that in the world? 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.