A gallery of black and white photographs I colorized using “my favorite” imaging software, Adobe Photoshop. See a few famous as well as not so famous faces. See also my colorization of life masks and de-aging using action figure heads.
Not so famous faces
Mary Chaney Thompson (1847-1920)Anna Daniel Gardner (1871-1953)Henry Daniel (1874-1953)
Famous Faces
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)Frederick DouglassNathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877)Nathan Bedford Forrest by Matthew Brady. Original photos: from the collections of Matt Hagans and Steve and Mike Romano
Transformed Images elsewhere on this site as a whole that I have created are free to anyone for NonCommercial use with attribution under the license above. Images on this site that are used by permission, logos and images of me do not fall under this license. While most of my image elements are public domain, my own, from free stock sites or from purchased stock sites , some elements may be from copyrighted sources and are in my best judgment, “transformative fair use” for use on this site. If you use a transformed image I created, keep in mind that some images may have elements from purchased stock sites or copyrighted elements within the transformed images. These elements may or may not be transferable for your use. To understand transformative fair use, please see the Creative Law Center’s post about copyright and fair use: Is it Fair Use? Using the Creative Work of Others
With so many variations among paintings, one wonders just what did the Founding Fathers of the United States really look like. When creating my graphic novel about founding father and 4th president James Madison I wanted to have an accurate portrayal of Madison for my book. No photographs of Madison exist, but we do have his life mask showing his exact likeness.
Using Madison’s life mask and Adobe Photoshop, I’ve attempted to create what Madison might have looked like in 1825.
I’ve created two variations, one with his signature comb-over point hairstyle and queue and another with a modern short hair cut. I tried to faithfully reproduce him based on the writings of the time about him.
John Browere’s Life Mask of James Madison
Here we have the life mask of James Madison. Below is a copy that is currently in possession of James Madison’s Montpelier. Fenimore Art Museum currently owns the original. The original mask was created by John Henri Isaac Browere in October 1825 for Madison while he was visiting Montpelier.
Source: James Madison’s Montpelier
“My Dear Sir:
Mr. Browere waits on you and Mrs. Madison with the expectation of being permitted to take your portrait busts from the life. As I have a sincere regard for him as a gentleman and a scholar, and great confidence in his skill as an artist (he having made two busts of myself), in the art which he is cultivating, I name him to you with much pleasure as being worthy of your encouragement and patronage. I am interested in having Mr. Browere take your likeness, for I have long been desirous to obtain a perfect one of you. From what I have seen and heard of Mr. Browere’s efforts to copy nature, I hope to receive from his hands that desideratum in a faithful facsimile of my esteemed friend ex-President Madison. Be pleased to present my most respectful regards to Mrs. Madison, and believe me always
Your most devoted friend,
Jacob Brown.”1
“From this introduction Browere seems to have gained the friendship of Mr. and Mrs. Madison, who took more than an ordinary interest in the artist and his family. They were on terms of familiar intercourse, and an infant, born to Mrs. Browere, July 3, 1826, was, by Mrs. Madison’s permission, named for her. Some years later this child accompanied her parents on an extended visit to Montpelier.”
That Madison was satisfied with the result of Browere’s skill is shown by the following:
Per request of Mr. Browere, busts of myself and of my wife, regarded as exact likenesses, have been executed by him in plaister, being casts made from the moulds formed on our persons, of which this certificate is given under my hand at Montpelier, 19, October, 1825.
James Madison.”2
James Madison Comes to Life
Using the bust from the above image, I created an image of Madison as he might have looked in 1825 with his signature pointed comb-over hairstyle. This was a little difficult to create because of the harsh lighting on his face.
Background Image Source: American Experience
“In his late 70s Madison was still mentally sharp. In 1828, one visitor found his conversation “a stream of history… so rich in sentiments and facts, so enlivened by anecdotes and epigrammatic remarks, so frank and confidential as to opinions on men and measures, that it had an interest and charm, which the conversation of few men now living, could have.” Physically, Madison’s “little blue eyes sparkled like stars from under his bushy grey eyebrows and amidst the deep wrinkles of his poor thin face” . With age, his complexion became yellowish, and his eyes “blepharitic” 1 (i.e. puffiness around the eyes).”3
Below is the same image with him now looking into the “camera.” Mr. Madison doesn’t look very happy in these images. However, I suppose it’s hard to be pleased when you’re plastered, literally. The drying time for a plaster face cast is approximately 15 minutes and can get warm, so I assume this process was very uncomfortable for him, thus rendering the stern look upon his face.
Background Image Source: American Experience
Here is the same image with a slight hairstyle change. I used this hairstyle for the “fictional character” of James Madison in my graphic novel.
Background Image Source: American Experience
These three images show a closer view of his face with some Photoshop tweaking to his eyes. Unfortunately, the original photo of the life mask does not afford me the quality nor the detail I genuinely need to work with. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to get quality high-resolution images of this life mask and do justice to the face of my 2nd favorite president. Until then, these images give us a good indication of how he looked.
Below, another view of the Browere Madison mask.
Source: Project Gutenberg, public domain
Here is the mask from the image above with skin, hair and bodies added with Photoshop.
See more of my James and Dolley Madison Photoshop creations at the following links.
Some portions of images used in this post may be subject to copyright and are used only for criticism, commentary, and non-profit educational fair use.
Transformed Images elsewhere on this site as a whole that I have created are free to anyone for NonCommercial use with attribution under the license above. Images on this site that are used by permission, logos and images of me do not fall under this license. While most of my image elements are public domain, my own, from free stock sites or from purchased stock sites , some elements may be from copyrighted sources and are in my best judgment, “transformative fair use” for use on this site. If you use a transformed image I created, keep in mind that some images may have elements from purchased stock sites or copyrighted elements within the transformed images. These elements may or may not be transferable for your use. To understand transformative fair use, please see the Creative Law Center’s post about copyright and fair use: Is it Fair Use? Using the Creative Work of Others
The Tour of the Super Museum in Metropolis Illinois with Superman
Intro
Using a Sideshow 1/6 scale Superman action figure and a little Adobe Photoshop magic I was able to create the perfect companion for my trip to the Super Museum in Metropolis Illinois. Come along and see the photo tour of the Museum with me. At the end of this post see the video of the before and after Superman scenes.
Superman Arrives
Shocked, I couldn’t believe that Superman responded to my text and actually showed up at my house…. yes, the Man of Steel at my house! I felt that same giddy excitement that Lois Lane felt the day Superman visited her for the first time by landing on her balcony. Unlike Lois, at least I didn’t have to fall out of a helicopter to get his attention.1Continue reading An Intimate Tour of the Super Museum in Metropolis with Superman→
The Tour of Montpelier with James and Dolley Madison
Intro….
December 2018, my friend Dave and I visited Montpelier, the plantation home of James Madison in Orange County, Virginia. The trip was enjoyable, but at that time Montpelier allowed no photos of the interior of the mansion. This was very disappointing.
We returned to Montpelier in June of 2019 after finding out we could now photograph the inside of the home. By this time, I was well into my science fiction graphic novel project about Madison. This visit allowed me to capture some lovely interior background photos for my project.
This post focuses on the interior of Montpelier. I’ve added a little extra flavor by adding James and Dolley with dialogue to some of the photos as if we had visited them. I Photoshopped “modernity” background items out of some of the images, i.e., security cameras, air vents, perimeter roping, etc. to make it look more like Madison’s time. Click on the “Before” image links to see the original photos. Continue reading An Intimate Tour of Montpelier with James and Dolley Madison→
James Madison Becomes a Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms Meme
Using some of the characters I’ve created with Photoshop, I have created a Second Amendment meme that has been used on social media. Feel free to use this for non-commercial use regardless of your political bent. Continue reading James Madison Becomes A Second Amendment Meme→
President James Madison – There’s UFOs over Montpelier
“Everybody’s flying and never touch the sky There’s UFO’s over New York and I ain’t too surprised Nobody told me there’d be days like these” – John Lennon
As a hobby, I enjoy writing science fiction graphic novels. I create original plots and use many photographic images and paintings to produce illustrations. This love for science fiction, graphic novels, and history lead me to create a graphic novel in which the 4th president of the United States, James Madison and his wife Dolley Payne Madison travel to the distant future on another planet. The graphic novel itself is not published online; however, some of the images from that effort are posted here. The purpose of this post is to show what one can do with Adobe Photoshop and other imaging applications. They are transformative and for educational purposes only. Continue reading Playing with James Madison – The Making of a Character→
