The Painted Photograph
with Cathy Cone
September 8 – October 13, 2026
Course Description
What happens when a photograph becomes a surface for paint, gesture, and reinterpretation? In this new online workshop, photographer and painter Cathy Cone explores the long history and contemporary possibilities of overpainting and hand-coloring photographs, an art form nearly as old as photography itself.
At the center of this practice is a conversation between two different languages: the precision of the camera and the physical, fluid nature of paint. In Cathy’s work, the painted photograph becomes a duet, where image and intervention sit side by side. The photograph isn’t replaced, it’s reactivated. Its surface opens up through brush, color, and mark-making, turning the process into a visual exchange where memory, history, and material shift against each other.
Over six sessions, we move through the space between lens and paint with demonstrations, conversation, and hands-on work. The workshop looks at both historical and contemporary approaches to painted photography, while introducing different materials and ways of working directly on photographic prints. Assignments between sessions encourage personal exploration and open-ended making, giving you time to develop your own approach through working with image, paint, and surface. Class time also includes review of your work, with group discussion and feedback to support your ongoing development.
The workshop keeps equal weight on process and outcome, leaving room for discovery, exchange, and the occasional mess along the way.
Additional Information
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
What You Should Know:
Participants can work with either printed or found photographs. A materials list will be provided prior to the start date.
This workshop is not focused on camera or editing software instruction, so participants should be comfortable working independently with their own digital equipment and tools.
Special Notes:
Class will meet 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (Mountain Time) on Tuesdays starting September 8 and ending October 13 (six online group sessions). Enrollment is limited to 12 participants.
Zoom Video Conferencing software (available for no charge from Zoom.com) will be used to facilitate the class sessions. Further details will be emailed to registrants.
Santa Fe Workshops always aims to produce a high-quality experience for our online attendees. That said, variables including regional and local internet provider speeds, traffic on Zoom's servers, and your own computing hardware can contribute to a less-than-ideal streaming event. While we do our best to minimize the impact of these variables, they are outside the control of Santa Fe Workshops.
Policies:
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
Recording class sessions using personal devices or third-party tools is not permitted. Session recordings are provided by Santa Fe Workshops and are available to enrolled students for two months after the class. This policy helps protect the intellectual property and privacy of both instructors and students.
about
Cathy Cone is a photographer, painter, and printmaker. Her surrealist approach to photography began in the late 1970’s with the introduction of the “Diana” camera. This led to an investigation of experimental techniques towards a multidisciplinary approach to her poetic image-making. Cathy received her training at Ohio University and the Vermont Studio Center. She received her MFA at Maine Media College, where she served as a mentor and guest faculty.
Some of her exhibitions include Sewanee: University of the South, Weisman Art Museum, University of Alabama, DeCordova Museum, Griffin Museum of Photography, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, and the Vermont Center for Photography. Her works are in the collection of IBM, Hallmark Fine Art Collections, American Express, The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel (NY), and many private collections.
Cathy, with her husband, master printer Jon Cone, founded Cone Editions Press in 1980 in Port Chester, NY, as a collaborative printmaking workshop. Cone Editions Press is now located in East Topsham, Vermont.
Website: cathycone.com
Instagram: @cathy_cone
