SANIBEL ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE 2 | Niki Butcher

Sanibel Island © 2020

Photographic Story Long ago in times past….no, it wasn’t that long ago! In 1998, I took my first photograph of the Sanibel Lighthouse and hand-painted the image. I photographed and hand-painted this image of Sanibel Lighthouse in 2020. I was amazed at the change in the environment around the lighthouse. Sanibel has survived several hurricanes and storms since 1998, and the beach protecting the lighthouse has gotten smaller and smaller each year. However, I am glad and thankful that the island folks have planted native trees and bushes that have roots to help hold the dirt and sand against the power of storms. The plants snuggle against the lighthouse, so it is safe. The Art of Hand Painting Black and White Photographs Photographed with a Sony digital camera and instead of oil painting with Q-tips and cotton balls, Niki was able to paint using Photoshop. Changing from the old-fashioned way of doing her art, to the new ‘fashion’ of using technology was challenging, but she’s enjoying getting back to her own personal expression. 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.