Image Transfer Art
One of my favorite things is COLLAGE, and of course as anyone who's been on Pinterest or Craftgawker knows, one of the most popular crafts right now is QUOTE ART.
So, when my friend Stefanie Gerard asked me to review the book, "Playing with Image Transfers" by Courtney Cerruti, I was super excited, because it's all about creating mixed media designs.
The book is very informative, and a brilliant go-to book for referencing how to create image transfers, using 5 transfer techniques, complete with supplies and photos of the steps in Chapter 1. My favorite part of the book is Chapter 2, which she entitled "Purposeful Play" and it totally inspire me to open up my studio and PLAY!
The technique that stood out to me is "Photo on Canvas" because she points out that not only can you use copies of photos, but you can also use glossy magazine pages to transfer images onto canvas. If you know anything about me, you know I'm nuts about altering magazines into crafts, fashion, and collage.
I quickly gathered 4 stretched canvases and started tearing out magazine pages into strips. Mostly pages of fashion with no words on them, were perfect for what I had in mind.
Just look at this sofa with all the fun flowers! This print would make a great background for the next layer of the collage.
The first step was to arrange all the torn magazine pages on the canvas until I liked the way they looked.
Then I flipped the torn pieces over (face down) to get them ready to stick to the canvas.
I grabbed my Aleene's Collagepauge gel medium for the image transfer technique. I've done this technique before, but it's been probably 15 years, and I was eager to try my hand at it again.
According to the author Courtney Cerruti, it's best to apply the gel medium to the canvas, and then lay your image face down into the gel. Then press firmly with your fingers or a library card to burnish the paper into the gel. I'm sure that's where the magic is! The ink in the magazine pages were being transferred into the fibers of the canvas.
Now the hardest part...leaving it alone to let it dry!
Once it was dry, I gently removed the paper with a damp sponge, using circular motions. This was so fun, that I had a hard time stopping from rubbing it too much. Be careful, because you don't want to remove the ink from the canvas.... just the paper!
Voila! The canvases were so cool looking, and were the perfect base for a layered collage with paint and decoupage. I was ready to grab my Tulip For Your Home stencil, paint, and a roller for the next layer.
I pushed the canvases together and laid the stencil over all of them, then painted a lime green chevron pattern over all of them.
I used a Dahlia motif stencil and tomato red paint to add a burst of color, and build a broader palette of hues.
I decided to turn the canvas around and mix them up to break up the pattern for a true collage feel.
Then I put on my creative thinking cap for the best Quote Art I could think of. I had plenty of ideas from cruising on Pinterest, but there was one that stood out the most. I cut magazines up for the letters, so that they would really stand out from the background.
I brushed Aleene's Collagepauge gel medium to the backs of the letters and then placed them on the canvas, and added a coat over the top to seal it.
The image transfers look amazing as a background. I'm thinking I need to do another one, and use photos of my kids when they were little, maybe with their favorite sayings...
I'm so happy with the way it turned out! Now, I just have to find the perfect spot to hang it on a wall : )
Thanks to Courtney Cerruti, author of "Playing with Image Transfers" for your beautiful book, and for the inspiration to PLAY, connect with images, and to create more image transfer art!
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Stefanie Girard
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