Shadow Dancer

This:

Horizontal on the amazing adjustable easel:

Plus an Inkjet image printed on an Apollo transparency looks like this:

Plus some Elmer's Caulk, a palette knife and some luck....

Ends up looking like this:

and the gratuitous close-up: 

 

And again, my wise art friends, how do I get this puppy sold??

xoS

PS. Venus Astonished and Shadow Dancer

both have a reoccurring theme. 

It's way deep

and I don't want to get into it now. 

You can probably tell that it has to do with heartbreak, 

I mean Venus is so astonished with this life, she bails!! 

She goes back to where she came from! 

She got hurt, yes, she could survive that,

but what really made her head back to sea was Disappointment!

Constant Disappointment!! 

Hoping, wanting and not getting. 

Being let down, sometimes by people that are not capable of giving her what she needs

so part of the blame is hers! 

Insanity is hoping for a different outcome over and over when the process is exactly the same! 

And Shadow Dancer,

she is there for one reason and one reason only.

To Excite.

Good grief, how sad is that. 

Her body is the only 

important thing about her. 

She is judged by her beauty and weight.

She has no personality,

soul or heart

in the shadows.

She is expected only 

To Excite.

Crap. 

I went off didn't I?

and I didn't really want to get into it.

I think I need a minute. 

xoS

BroknHearted Venus

That last background was pretty but kinda bored me. I've put it aside until Broknhearted inspiration hits.
So instead I embarked on 3 collages at once! I pulled out my stash of favorite commercial and self made paper and ripped and glued my way to happiness! The collage that most captured my interest started out like this:
Here the canvas is completely covered with paper and in the process of being drybrushed with gesso:
Used Caran D'Ache crayons to add some hair and have taped images around to figure out the composition I like most. The images are Apollo 7039 transparencies printed with an inkjet Epson C88 printer which uses Durabrite inks:

Wouldn't this be an awesome Blog Header? The collage sheet with Venus' image and the words is courtesy/property of Misty Mawn. You'll have to ask her for permission to use it as a header!! I did my part!! I used crayons and made it my own!! Thanks Misty!

Here are the tools for a caulk transfer ready to go:

The first transfer. You can see I used yellow crayon to outline the cut out image. This was done so I could see where to lay down the caulk with the least waste. I am still VERY new to this technique. In this photo, I am holding the now devoid of ink transparency.

Here is the wet transfer: I blended the edges into the canvas with the palette knife. You can see there are some areas where the ink did not transfer. Its ok. Distressed, I believe is the au currant term. I f'd up is what I would say. teehee.

Here is what Buddy Guy was doing while I was creating. He thinks he is a dog. He loves to chew. My paper towel rolls are fair game.

I had some extra caulk on my palette, so I used it up in my practice book pages. The manuscript and chess piece are good, the arches not so good, I used too much caulk in that spot. The girl and corner post thingy were both soft get medium transfer. Caulk beats that for clarity, IMHO.

Here comes the Tricky Part: adding the caulk to the face for the shell transfer. I think I used a little too much. I can't wait until Trial and Error becomes Experience. Feel me?? If I mess up the face, I've wasted Time, Effort, Supplies and My Sanity. Sweatin It Big Time:

48 Hours later. Caulk still not set well enough for me to do a couple more glazes and some detail work with pencils/crayons. I may even add a few more small transfers. My wheels are still turning.

This collage has a title I will add to the canvas. I think it's perfect. You'll see it when it's all done. Thanks for joining me for this Work In Progress! Now, whatcha think???? Good or Bad Give It To Me Straight. xoSusan

Change is a Scarey Subject

For me anyway. So that is how I represented it in these 2 collages, spooky and mysterious. The first utilizes the background I made in Julie Prichard's Layer Love online workshop. Here it is:

The second Change collage is even scarier. There is a spooky skull hidden in there. LOL. The canvas is wrapped with painted deli paper. I LOVE making paper. Thank you again to Marianne for these fabulous images. The transfer of the large crow was done using Elmers Caulk and the transfer on the mulberry paper was spray alcohol.
 I'm not really in love with either of these pieces, but I learned a lot, both what to do and what not to do.
 Feel me??
xoS

Transfer Fun

I worked a little more on Lesson 2 from Julie Prichard's Layer Love class. The class steps are all done, but I got inspired by the background and started adding things.....My first addition was a crow transfer using Elmer's Caulk, inkjet image and transparency. Thanks go out to Marianne from Marianne's Art Blog for the caulk, directions, image and inspiration!! Mk ROCKS!! plus she has awesome taste in music...just sayin.

Here is the inkjet image printed on transparancy:

India Ink and calligraphy pen vines:

I didn't wait long enough and some of the transfer lifted, so I just painted in the blank spots:

Goin to fill in with some more paper here and there I think, highlight the vines more....Tell me what you think.....xoSusan

Elmer's Caulk Transfer Play

As you are well aware by my previous post,teehee, I am having a grand time playing with inkjet transfers using Elmer's Caulk and Apollo 7039 transparencies. Just as a reminder, I use an Epson C88 with Durabrite inks. I am working on cardboard that has been gesso'd and painted with various sprays and acrylics. I am still enamoured of All Things Medieval since attending Lynne Perrella's Medieval Manuscript Workshop, which is evident in my "practice book."

I am just overjoyed at the ease in which transfers happen using the above recipe. I will be grateful to Marianne FOREVER!!! teehee. I am having so much fun, because the success rate is so high, and even when it isn't exactly what I was going for, I can make it work. So here is my FIRST Elmer's Caulk transfer:

Got my supplies together....
Laid down some Elmer's Caulk, set tranparency down, burnished with bone folder, and lifted TOO SOON. Marianne's directions said WAIT several moments for the caulk to set. Could I wait? NO. Therefore this blob, which will be attended too, have no fear. But the bits that did transfer gave me HOPE!!! The bits were, good, good I tell ya, clear, detailed with tons of promise!!! So I calmed myself down, and tried again.

oh JOY oh Rapture!! look at that!!! Almost Perfect!! I left my camera at TMG's house so these pics are taken with my iphone that, alas, has no flash, no zoom or macro feature. Apologies. Anyway, after the above success it was a free for all :
I like a smoother burnishing hand that a rag affords, rather than the bone folder.
Look at that clean transfer!! Then I started playing with other pages:

Now before I did the Caulk Transfer's on this page, I tried to use a Chartpak Blender Pen to do a transfer of the castle onto this page:

Saturate small area with pen and burnish, burnish, burnish. Well ventilated area please.
Lift, and Nothing Transferred! Well, the paint did attach to the copy....
So the hell with it, I cut it out and attached it with Golden's Self Leveling Gel. I'm sure there are successful ways to use this technique, but I just don't see the point. Can someone enlighten me?? Well, I like a transfer sometimes that doesn't have the raised and glossy or satin area of caulk or gel medium surrounding it. I can see a definite need for that. In that case I would probably use an alcohol spray or Purell transfer to UNPAINTED paper. For example if I wanted to transfer an image on top of some vintage writing or paper, and I wanted a surface without texture. Ok, I just did that answering my own question thing. Anybody else ever used the Chartpak pen and if so, in what capacity? I would love to hear other Artists input on that.

So, moving along, Here is a page 80% completed, I think I may add some more writing in the upper left corner, cutting thru the heart, maybe:

It's probably not politically correct to say you LOVE your own work, teehee, but I LOVE this!!! Not bad for playing and practicing. The lyrics to the strip of music are:

"When three long years had passed away, A Knight shall wed with me."
"O thou shalt have a milk-white steed, If thou shall wed with me."
"O thou shalt have a golden crwon, If thou shall wed with me."

Holy High Expectations, Batman!!! anyhoo, there are 2 caulk transfers, the woman and the tassels, stamping, embossing, a torn piece of vellum paper printed with gold sheet music, which I then did the heart caulk transfer on top of. The arrow thru the ring is a transparency piece I glued on with DG3 because I didn't want to take a chance and mess up her features by doing a caulk transfer. I have found with playing that you can LAYER the transfers on top of each other!!! YAHOO, more on that later. I sprayed all with an acrylic sealer. I like how the sealer dulled down the arrow over the face. It was way too reflective before spraying.

That is all for now, I have lots more I could share, but I am itching to create with my new found knowledge and I have been on this computer for hours. Thanks again, Marianne. And thanks to all who visit and leave inspiring and kind comments!! xoSusan