JOANIE’S CAFE © 1999

Ochopee

Photographic Story Joanie’s Café has been around forever. It’s one of the few buildings left in the small village of Ochopee in Big Cypress National Preserve along Tamiami Trail. It’s a funky stop with good food and live music on the weekends. 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.