Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a safe and happy beginning to 2013. We’re kinda low key at my house, but I did get to spend it with those I love the most. Even better, I’m on vacation this week! Which means, I’ve been in my art room creating!
You probably already know how much I love Donna Downey and her artwork. I love her Inspiration Wednesday videos and I’ve gotten a lot of ideas watching them. So, when I saw this video showing image transfers, I knew I had to try it!
I started by printing a few images from Pinterest (and made sure they were copyright free images). I printed them on my ink jet printer at home on regular copy paper, so nothing fancy. To begin the layout, I started with a layer of gesso (sidenote, I picked up the Plaza Art brand gesso this week and I LOVE it!!!! It’s spreads nicely, covers well and it makes me happy!)
After the gesso, I applied a generous amount of Golden Soft Gel Medium to the left page of the layout (Donna recommends this particular one and I just happen to have it – it worked wonders by the way!).
Next, I placed the image face down on the page and smoothed out with a bone folder (this is called burnishing). After I was sure I had the entire imaged burnished, I let it set for a few minutes, then, pealed the paper off. Success – the image is left in the gel medium!
Another generous application of soft gel medium on the right page, and I transferred my second image. And it’s about this point I realized I should have chosen images with more color (next time). So, it was time to mix some paint.
I used a mix of fluids and soft bodied acrylic paints for this layout and applied this first layer with a palet knife.
My next layer was applied using a stencil. I thought I wanted a pop of blue. I was wrong. So, I added a second layer of purple. Still wrong.
So, I mixed a new color and added a layer on the right and a wash on the left.
My next layer is French Script background stamp by Stampin Up. And then a few other stamps to add some subtle interest.
A close up of that French Script.
Another close up.
My final piece was going to be this peacock which I cut out of a greeting card. After adhering it to the page, I decided it didn’t really look right. It looked like it was stuck on the page and not really part of the design. So, I scraped up the last bit of paint on my palet knife and smeared it over the little embellishment.
Much better!
And here is the finished layout.
I think it’s one of my favorites. I’m not usually an orangey person, but for some reason, this combination really speaks to me. I really enjoyed this technique and I’ve already started printing out new images for another layout. Have you tried this before? Were you successful ?
Till next time,
Cheers,
Michelle
Studio B 