Work in Progress

I am very excited by this new piece!

I went on a transfer binge! This time I used Golden's Soft Gel Gloss medium and Apollo ink-jet transparencies NOT QUICK DRY printed with ink jet images.

OMG what a blast. 

I was a bit manic and ripped thru my stash and stuck to my "mannish" theme and transferred like a crazy wine fueled lonely cat owning spinster. 

Holy Shit! 

I AM a wine fueled cat owning crazy lonely spinster!! 

teehee. I'm cool with it. 

I had to take a break from Mom and Dad's huge canvas. I just haven't been feeling it. I thought I would try and have it done by Mother's day but Father's day is coming up too. So is Labor Day for that matter. teehee.

So, this canvas is 16x20. 

When I was in Misty Mawn's class at Art and Soul, she demonstrated a transfer with paper and Golden's soft gel medium. Hereafter known as GSGM, ok? She brushed the gel onto the corner of the canvas, laid down an image of a tree with branches and leaves, burnished it for like 30 seconds. Lifted it off, and damn if the image didn't stay on the canvas. Regular cheap copy paper and an ink jet image. 

That NEVER happens for me.

NEVER. 

But she is Misty

and the Universe will not allow her to have crappy transfers during a workshop.

Which is how it should be.

I love her and covet her talent. 

So I thought I would try her technique. I have a beautiful catalog of men's clothing with the type of men that I have never met in my life modeling clothes and accessories that I've never seen an actual man wear. 

You know what I mean. 

So I started with a shirt image, love the stripes and the green background. 

As you can see I also used the same technique on ink jet copies of my own art in the upper left corner. Have you done that? You should. Scan your work in progress, not just finished. You can use these scans to do a different piece with the same starting point but with a different end result. Scan the finished piece and cut it up for your own collage. Use your work more and someone else's images less. 

I finally got to this place and it is Good.

I had to learn a lot, to get here, and thankfully I still have a lot more to learn.

Gosh, I am digressing yet again. 

So the next steps were covering the canvas, using the ink jet image transfers. BTW, I use an Epson C88, now discontinued, with Durabright inks, Apollo 7039 transparencies, and GSGM. 

Here's the proof:

The above image has the transparency laid down in the GSGM.Therefore the reflection. Below you see how the ink has transferred to the canvas and the mostly clear transp. is in my hand.

Compared to Misty's, my paper/gel transfer of the shirt came out crappy. You can see how distressed it is. Now look how clear the transparency is. I just have the most success with this method. Also, you can use Elmer's or Ace Caulk instead of the GSGM. I just happen to be out of it.

The only images that are collaged on (full thickness paper glued on with gel medium) are the man with the atom bomb and the Jesus Row. Everything else is a transfer. Just FYI. 
I got rid of that red transparency in the lower corner for now. 

Time to add the color!!

Painting in some details here and there...

So then I added some details like the hearts and golden halos and pencil in the atom bombs....

And here I'm fooling around with some possible additional transfer layers....like the ribs and the anatomical guy in the corner

yeah, I think I'm digging this...

Another choice....

I think I like this one below better....
I'm considering using TAP paper for this head transfer. I just purchased 5 sheets from Amazon for an outrageous price.
I haven't used it before but artists in my ink-jet transfer yahoo group
appear to love it. 
I'm worried about the heat of the iron
melting my transfers. 
Also, I sealed the transfers with
PYM 2
in order to prevent the ink running before adding paint. We're talking inkjet here. The PYM is probable flammable, right? 
I'm worried I'll set my eyebrows on fire. Hey, if that could happen anywhere in The Universe, 
it would happen at my house. Just sayin'.

So this is what I have so far, and I'm loving it, if I do say so myself. I am kicking around an Edgar Allen Poe quote to add also. Remember when I said scan your work and use it again? I struggled gymnastically to get all the areas of this canvas in my scanner. It was quite humorous. Well, before further embellishments make it too "finished" and not usable for another project, I came up with some cool possible backgrounds. 
This one below needs a focal point and some words and it could go in any direction at all....

A little more paint to push the shirt into the background and a focal point....

This one below is an ATC waiting to happen...

 This one below I feel Medieval about....I feel some armor, and a damsel in distress....

I will keep you posted!! I ordered some silk gampi tissue that hasn't arrived, I may wait and do his head with that. I'm concerned about losing detail and transparency, cuz I want the words and test patterns to show thru his face. 
blah blah blah.
Thanks for looking!! 
And Welcome and Thank you to New Followers!!
xoS

Old Fashioned Cut And Paste

Had a very productive weekend. Cleaned the whole house, laundry, lovin, and Art!! Ok, by whole house I mean not the Teenagers Bedroom and Bathroom (ghastly shiver) or the studio. I haven't had a chance to take my next on-line photo shop class this past week and I've been missing glue and scissors. So today I made some ATC's the old fashioned way. The first is the final in the triad inspired by the wisdom of my friend Beth from BarnOwlStudio. I used my hand painted watercolor paper for the substrate, the photo of the little girl is from my Aussie friend Lorri from Artivity, (thanks again for the ephemera Lorri, I had this image once, loved it, and lost it, so happy to have it again!!xo) and the stamp is from Invoke Arts. I think. The quote is from "The Dark Bride" written by Laura Restrepo. Border's Books review describes it as "A slyly humorous yet poignant love story." Right up my Alley, folks.

The next one is "Don't Ask". Substrate is illustration board gifted to me by Beth. Thanks Again, Beth! I love this stuff! Never used it before and I like it much better than my baseball cards!! Dollar bill is an ink jet alcohol transfer using Apollo 7039 and my new baby, little Epson C88. Inked and marker edges. Vintage cabinet card image. The dollar image is from a collage sheet from an etsy seller, but I have them all mixed up and I'm not sure which artist I purchased it from. My bad.
Next one is "Soft Repose". I had another phrase in mind before I found these words from different parts of an old book. I used D3 to fill in the copper ring, and dropped a little alcohol ink on top. The statuary hand was another ink jet transfer done using the 7039 and alcohol. The substrate is paper I sprayed Glimmer Mists and Adirondack Sprays on. The woman's face is from Artchix Studio.
And the last one is "Settling". Inspired by Death Cab For Cutie, one of my favorite Bands. The inspiring song is called "The Sound of Settling". Here's the video for the song. Painted watercolor background, Krylon gold webbing spray, (Anyone know where I can get other colors, especially silver and black?) slide mount thingy with stamping and alcohol inks, ink jet alcohol transfer of music on top of Greek lady. Ink and acrylic edges.
Very diverse sampling, right? Could it be that I have a short attention span?? now, what was I saying??? xoSusan

Crying Eggs

Inks, stamping, acrylics, alcohol and Apollo 7039 transfers, Portfolio oil pastels, charcoal pencil. Words from my Own Head. This next one is in process:


I just noticed I lost a follower, but can't tell who it is. I feel like I've been dumped!! brokn up with!! kicked to the curb!! Feels really weird. Anybody else ever lose a follower? Maybe I need to step up production? I've had the flu now for 5 days, am just NOW getting over the dizziness and inability to breathe. That's my excuse!! Give me another chance! I'll Come up with a New Exciting Technique, that makes you look Richer and Thinner....... come baaaaaaaaaack.........must be the drugs I'm on.....xoSusan

Close Up ATC's

Practicing with more Purell transfers. The first 2 are done using an old game board as the substrate, bleached and stamped cardstock, purell transfer from Apollo transparency, dymo word printer thingy. This first one is inspired by Green Day's song, She.

The next one is from a song by Andrew Jackson Jihad called Scenesters. I couldn't find a good link. They remind of my punk rock filled youth. sigh. **Disclaimer**the lyrics below may be offensive to the faint of heart. Hey, I didn't write it, but I wish I had. teehee

Oh my god there's scenesters everywhere

With their hair gel and their vintage t-shirts

Why didn't the shins come to phoenix?And why didn't mirah come to phoenix?

Because the modified is too small

And the marquis is too big

And the complex is rightfully dead

And the hipsters with their snide comments

and aversion to applause

Oh my god hardcore kids everywhere

With their hair gel and their color green

How do they look so good

while their convictions remain so strong?

Because their hair gel that they use

isn't tested on animals

And their swallow tattoos are fucking lame

And cocaine is essentially vegan

And they don't give a fuck anyway

They're so vain, and yes, this song is about them

Oh my god post-hardcore kids everywhere

With their violence and pomposity

So fucking straightedge getting high off of self-righteousness

And praying to a sideways cross

So urban, so infantile, so angry, so young, and so poor

They don't need to use a crutch 'cuz they've got the wheelchair

Oh my god there's assholes everywhere

Pretentious fucking assholes everywhere

Oh my god there's assholes everywhere

Pretentious judgmental assholes everywhere

And the last close up ATC uses a magazine page, glimmer mist, words from a book, cheap crayola watercolor markers:
Hey, I warned you in the title of my blog. Low Brow. Inspired by Pain. But Tempered With Humor. xoSusan

Mermaid ATC's

These next 2 ATC's are more practice with Purell transfers. I used an old book page, sticker flourish, oil pastels, Apollo transparency. I don't like the sticker, but when I tried to pull it up, it started to tear the image. Live and Learn!!

I really like this one. Old book page, purell transfers from Apollo transparency, and bling. I transfered on top of other transfers with very little wait time in between. No problems, nothing smeared. This is one of those times that practice results in a most satisfying ATC!!
I'm digging Purell big time. Almost as much as my white wine. Ok, well not that much. teehee.
xoSusan

The Good The Bad And The Ugly

POST 197.....almost to the 200th!!!!

Okay. I'm gonna go with The Bad and The Ugly first. I am crazy for Purell transfers. Yes, that is the hand sanitizer Purell I am talking about, whose main ingredient is what class??? alcohol, you got it.

Purell + injet ink + Apollo transparencies = Kick Ass Transfers.

In order for this equation to work though, you must:

• Use Purell, doesn't matter if it has Aloe in it


• Use Apollo Transparency for Inkjet printers item CG7031S


• Use a substrate that is not sealed with gel medium, otherwise the substrate will not absorb the ink which has been pulled off the transparency by the Purell, (if it works for you sealed let me know please)

Have your substrate ready, mine is usually some type of paper usually scrapbook, my homeade stuff, watercolor paper, book pages or an inkjet image. Pay Attention To This: if you are going to do a transfer onto another ink jet image, the purell is wet, right??? so the ink on the substrate will change colors and may get blurry. At least that's what happens to me. I could be a freak of nature, but that is a subject for another post. teehee. So Bullet 3 says your substrate can't be sealed, right? So what's a girl to do. I'll tell you, after teeth knashing and pulling out of hair, I have discovered THE ANSWER. It's called PYM II. Follow directions. Spray ink jet image. Let dry. Do transfer. Do Happy Dance. Underlying ink is sealed but it will Still Recieve The Transfer. Isn't that a beautiful thing. I have saved you crooked teeth and bald spots. I'm sorry I'm going on and on about this but it is Miraculous to me, when something works!!! Wait, should I be telling you this??? Now my work secrets will be out there in the universe, oh screw it, just don't tell anyone else, ok?? ok. Moving on.....Here are my Bad and Ugly attempts:

Above have either not enough or too much Purell, and too much or not enough burnishing. Print the image you want to transfer on the Apollo transparency. Let dry. Print it on the correct side, dummy. ok. On the substrate, (above samples are inkjet images, so they have been Pym II'd.)Lay 2 layers of Purell. The first one seems to get sucked into the paper. Then go over it again. Trust me if you don't do it twice the ink will not transfer. It seems like too much, but it's not. Unless it is, and then it will look like that middle bottom one. You will get it, just takes A LOT of trial and error. Lay image to be transfered on top of the Purell schmear. Let the Purell start to suck in the ink. There is very LITTLE need to burnish unless a part of the image is not transfering. After about 2 minutes, (if you get up to pee and then get sidetracked by your teenager, you will get the middle top results which means the transparency piece DRIED to the Purell and when I went to lift it up EVERYTHING came off, damn it all to hell, this is a quick process) lift up the transfer a little from an edge and peek. If there is a part not transfering burnish it lightly with your bone folder thingy. Sometimes I have even dabbed a little bit of Purell in a bald spot and been able to save the transfer. Once you are satisfied that all has been transferred lift off transparency piece, which will now be mostly clear of ink. Hopefully, anyway. Let the transfer dry. If you can use a light hand you can wipe off some areas that have Purell but no ink if you were a little sloppy. HERE IS THE BEST TIP EVER!!! I noticed that you can use the Purell like an ERASER, kinda. If some of the ink has blobbed in the wrong place, dab a little Purell on it, and wipe with a tissue. It comes off most of the time. AMAZING. Again, this has saved several of my transfers. You may ask yourself, gee, why doesn't Susan just use gel medium and paper, it's probably cheaper than those Apollo transparencies. Because WAITING and RUBBING all that paper off makes me want to STICK FORKS IN MY EYES. capice??? So here are some successes:

Love these guys! I had about 12 failed attempts the night these 7 turned out. There is a lesson in there somewhere, and I hope it's just not Life Sucks. teehee. Any questions? Feel free to ask and I will pretend to know ALL the answers. I must sign off, heading to MD for those Fred B. Mullet workshops, my treat to myself for 2009. xoSusan

Two Fun ATC's

First is a male rendition of my "Stand A Little Less Between Me and The Sun" ATC. Purell transfer from an Apollo Transparancy, (which I am out of and having Serious Withdrawal from), scrapbook paper, stamping, chalk, ink, Dymo words, embossing powder.

I messed up the line from his eye to the planet. My gel pen was not cooperating, I am SO PISSED. The other lines are perfect. What does one do in this situation? Should I scrap him and start over? What do you do when you have an oopsie? Give me some advice, here. Is there a way I can fix that? The gel is not thick enough to scrap off with my xacto knife.

Next one uses a background I posted about previously. Tissue paper from my favorite store, Torrid, vintage sewing pattern, old map, lips from a Torrid clothing tag.

Remember when Snapple beverages had Facts on the underside of the bottle caps? Well, my daughter, who was probably 11 at the time, started saving them. This quote cracked us both up and we never forgot it. I knew one day it would pop up on an ATC. Those shiny lips were the inspiration I needed. xoSusan