Jacob (Jake) Groenhof
Photography
My interest in photography began in the early 1960s with the family’s Kodak Brownie camera. Then came a span of time where a demanding job and raising a family took precedence over artistic expression. I would return to photography two decades later, experimenting with homemade pinhole cameras with large format film, and even aerial photography which employed kites with radio-controlled cameras. In 2002, as the days of film were giving way to the digital age, I embraced the new technology with my first non-film, four-megapixel camera.
Printmaking
As a young teen I received a Superior “Cub” printing press for Christmas. That started me on a lifelong interest in printing which led to running my own ad-specialty printing business. Using pad-transfer and dye sublimation processes, I printed the logos of major corporations onto innumerable objects from golf balls and lava lamps to electric razors. More recently, I began working with large-format pigment printers where I’ve printed both my own work and open and limited edition prints for local artists. I also use the pigment printers to create ‘digital’ negatives.
During the past few years I developed an interest in 19th-Century photographic printmaking processes. This allows me to combine my passions for photography and printmaking. My focus has been on the historical processes of platinum/palladium, cyanotype, gum bichromate and others as a means of satisfying a personal need for a more hands-on approach to my art.
I maintain a private studio at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
Select Exhibitions:
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities – “Holiday Fine Art Show” – December, 2019 (juried show)