Liquid Emulsion on Watercolor Paper

by Marci Cooke

Get ready for this year’s trend towards black-and-white photography by expanding your printing repertoire. The following alternative printing method will give you a niche for selling and exhibiting your work, plus the pure enjoyment of learning something new. The technique is fun and easy once you master a few tricks. For example, this is an exciting process that allows infinite freedom of expression. Forget fine details. Forget the zone system. Forget "technically correct"--it no longer exists. Get out of your box and start thinking artsy, avant-garde. Communicate an emotion. There are no rules.

Now let’s get to work.

LIQUID EMULSION

You're going to coat your own paper--usually fine art paper--as opposed to buying the usual photo paper. You’ll have a wide selection of papers from which to choose for this process--including handmade paper. There are several different manufacturers of liquid emulsions. After much experimentation, I've concluded that the emulsion made by Luminos is by far the easiest to work with and gives exceptional results, as well. This product is readily available in mail order photography catalogues. Plan to spend about twenty-two dollars for an eight ounce bottle, which seems expensive, but it goes a long way. Out of the box, the emulsion is a semi-solid white mass similar in consistency to gelatin. In fact, it's the same bromo-iodine emulsion used to coat all photographic paper, but with gelatin added so you can work with it.

Don’t open the container yet. The emulsion is light sensitive.

Luminos tells us that their emulsion currently on the market is a straight grade three. (Later this year, a variable contrast liquid emulsion will become available.) Place the unopened bottle in a pan of very hot tap water. After about ten minutes, invert the bottle very gently. Shaking or stirring too quickly will cause air bubbles to form, which is something you want to avoid. Once the gelatinous blob is melted, you’re ready to work. Don’t forget to turn off your white light and, with your safe light on, open the bottle.

Pour a small amount of liquid into a paper cup and cover the bottle. You'll be painting the liquid in a smooth, thin layer ("thin" is the optimal word), so I recommend using a large sable art brush. Luminos suggests you use inexpensive disposable brushes; however, I found they leave too many brush strokes apparent on the paper. (These marks didn't produce the look I wanted, but you may find you like the effect.) Now for the simple part : just paint the liquid on your paper, creating a very thin coating. It’s that easy.

CHOOSING A PAPER

Fine art paper can be found in any art supply store and comes in large sheets costing about four dollars each. I prefer the ninety pound paper over the one hundred forty pound, because it's easier to tear into small pieces. You'll also have to make a choice between hot press (smooth) and cold press (textured). Try both. One large sheet can be torn into about eight 8 x10 size sheets, but in the beginning, it’s best to tear them into much smaller sheets (3 x 3). Coating the paper is a learning process--plan on a lot of waste. The smaller the paper, the less money you spend. When you have good control over the results, go ahead and work bigger.

After the paper is coated, it must be left to dry. This takes about two or three hours, depending on conditions. Remember, once the paper is coated, treat it as you would any light sensitive photo paper. In other words, don’t accidentally expose it.

There’s no need to limit yourself to paper, however. Liquid emulsion can also be painted on glass, cloth, wood, etc. If you wish to try it on ceramic or glass, you’ll need to first wash your surface with a vinegar-and-water solution, then coat it with a matt polyurethane.

READY TO PRINT

After the paper is completely dry, place it into a paper safe. Decide which negatives you'll print using this technique. Portraits work well, as do landscapes or still lifes. With the Luminos brand of emulsion, exposure time is about the same as with RC paper. With some other brands (for example, Liquid Light) exposure time is much longer--often a minute or more, depending on the negative--and doesn't produce nearly enough contrast for my taste.

The paper tends to curl after coating, but this is not a problem. Just put your easel away and place the paper directly onto the white enlarger board. Since you won’t have a centering guide, you may find it difficult to line up the image so that it prints in the center of the emulsion. This is especially true if you're leaving a large, ragged border on the edge of the paper. This difficulty with centering is not all bad. You'll notice that cutting off someone’s head or part of her face adds an unexpected effect you might enjoy. But if it’s not what you want, here’s a hint: Expose your negative on the white board of the enlarger. Note where the center of your image is, and mark it with a coin. Turn off your enlarger, and place the coated paper down using the coin as a guide. You can move the paper around to make adjustments before exposure.

After the paper is exposed, process it through the usual chemistry--developer, stop bath, and fixer. Finish with a water bath, but be careful. A harsh stream of water from the tap may wash the emulsion right off the paper. (I usually soak my prints a few at a time in a large tray.) Be sure to agitate and change the water several times. Don’t leave your paper soaking in a water bath for more than twenty minutes, or you’ll get to see your image drip right off the paper when you remove it. A wet print is very delicate. Once it’s been washed in the water bath, lay it flat to dry.

AIR BUBBLES

Air bubbles are a part of this technique, so learn to love them. Luminos has a suggestion for getting rid of as many as possible. They suggest allowing the safe light to reflect on the wet paper surface. If you see any bubbles, now is the time to pop them or go over them with the brush. You can also spot them after the print is dry.

FINAL TIPS:

• Don’t shake the bottle. This will create air bubbles (unless youlike air bubbles--remember, no rules).
  Coat the paper in a thin, even layer.
  As with any chemical, use precaution, however, it’s not caustic and rinses off skin easily.

• Experiment with several types of brushes.
  A circular motion with a sable brush will give a different effect than sharper strokes using a nylon brush.
  If you can see your brush strokes and you don’t like this effect, try a softer brush.
  Paint liquid emulsion on muslin and make pillows or a quilt.
  Brushes can be cleaned with soap and water.

• Once your print dries, it can be painted with watercolors or sepia toned.
  To remove spots from your sink or floor, wait until they dry and peel them off.

Most importantly, experiment and have fun.

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