My first introduction to photo transfer was on a trip to NYC many years ago. My husband and I were wandering through Soho with no particular agenda except to find inspiration around every corner. It was on a not-so-quiet side street that we stumbled upon a photographer offering her art to passers by for a mere $20. Using a vintage polaroid camera, she had us stand out in the street {surrounded by the hum of traffic} while she snapped our portrait. While the print developed, she carefully soaked her thick watercolour paper in water to prepare for the next step in the process. Once the print was ready, she removed the watercolour paper from the water, removed the protective film from the polaroid print, and quickly pressed them into one another, massaging the back of the polaroid with great fervour. When she peeled it back, the transfer that was left behind had a wonderfully vintage charm to it, revealing a portrait that is still one of my favourites of my husband and I to this day.

I admit that I haven’t really stumbled upon anyone doing photographic transfers with such elegance and charm since that memorable day in Soho. It seemed the art of photo transfer was lost to my world of wonder. Lost, that is, until last year’s Interior Design Show where I happily found Patrick Lajoie neatly tucked into a small end row booth presenting his art. A furniture maker by trade, Patrick had started to integrate his love of wood with his lifelong passion for photography, and the result is nothing short of lovely.

Of the many reasons I love Patrick’s work, one is his experimentation with scale. The first image above is my favourite {and is permanently on my wish list for Christmas or a birthday or an anniversary…really any occasion that might justify having it hanging over my fireplace!}. This piece is available in two sizes {6×36 and 11×60} in a limited edition series of 50 prints on wood panel. I adore the way the wood grain subtly reveals itself through the photograph, marrying its texture with the clouds in a way that charmingly belies the artist’s process.

I also love the vintage warmth and figurative subject matter of the second piece above, the out-of-focus photograph allowing a dream like remembering of a favourite day spent at the beach. The unexpected scale of these pieces feel like a narrow window into memories of days gone by, almost as if the viewer is squinting to see what it is they long to remember.

I think it is the dream-like state of remembering that I feel in Patrick’s work that has captured my heart and attention. I feel as though I can superimpose countless memories onto his images and linger there with nostalgic happiness.

Patrick is currently showing at Toronto’s One of A Kind Show {on until December 2nd} and his work can also be purchased through Art Interiors.

Happy Make Something Mondays!

xo
s.