TACKY TOURIST | Niki Butcher

Kissimmee © 1987

Photographic Story This photo was taken in Kissimmee while we were on our way with friends to Disney World. When we drove pass this giant gator, I yelled for Clyde to turn around…this image was just too funky not to photograph! Our friend, Oscar Thompson, saw the humor in it and posed as a Tacky Tourist. The reason the gator was placed in the parking lot of the complex was because it had once been a swimming pool and the gator was hiding the pool, which was no longer in use. 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.