Aileen Musa

Art Mediums

• Mixed Media

Biography

Coloring photos by hand allows me to reinterpret an image in a way that color film cannot. It allows me to communicate a feeling as well as a sense of nostalgia. When I hand color a photograph, I can change the world, if only for moment.

Each image begins with either a black and white photo or a digital painting from an original photo. I hand color the black and white image, adding all of the color. I print the digital painting in color and hand-embellish it. For both applications, I use a variety of mediums such as pan pastels, pencil, acrylic paints.

I was inspired to hand paint my photos by a hand painted black and white photograph of an English garden by Wallace Nutting. It was a wedding gift for my grandparents as in the early 1920’s. This image, my inspiration, now hangs in my home. I hope you like my view of the world.