Thursday, August 31, 2017

The last day of August


Dry gel transfers are my favorite so far. The book suggested using soft gel (gloss) medium, gesso, or caulk. I don't have caulk, so I skipped that trial. I used the gesso, but none of those transfers were usable ... at all.

I experimented with both matte and gloss gel medium - and if I remember to carefully and quickly wipe away any gel that extends beyond the transfer image - I am happy with either one. The only downside is that the technique takes 24 hours of patience. Just like the proverbial pot, watching does not make the gel dry faster. After the loooong wait, it was a simple matter of sanding the back of the transfer, lightly misting with water, and rubbing away the paper to reveal what image was still attached to the background.

This method requires a toner-based or magazine image. I chose to use laser printed illustrations, scanned from old books, and photos, adjusted to the desired size. The images were trimmed to exactly the shapes I wanted and placed on painted papers. Two of the backgrounds were bumpy gelatin plate prints. I did wonder how that uneven surface would affect the quality of the transfer.

Gelatin plate background paper
 
Gelatin plate background paper

Painted background paper






These images transferred even better than I expected, so the gesso transfer failures are forgotten, out of mind! Even the bumpy gelatin print papers took the transfers perfectly. 

The next step is to figure out how and where I want to use these (pictures will be posted) ... and then make more!!!!! 

Next up - Gel Skin.

Casting all your care upon God; for he careth for you.   1 Peter 5:7

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