My Secret Image Transfer Technique

I never thought it would be hard to write about some special "skill" you have or thing you've figure out that probably no one else knows, but I guess it's kind of like having a secret recipe. You want to have the best pie in the world and not have anyone else be able to duplicate it.

Well, I started this blog with the purpose of maybe helping other artists become better by teaching them what I've learned so maybe they don't have to waste a bunch of time trying a million things out. So I will share my "secret" technique.

Initially I looked all over the web for the best way to transfer an image onto a painting. None of the explanations of how to do it were good enough. They all kind of made sense but they were missing a step, so it never completely came out right. So I decided to try my own technique.

1. Print out the image you want on tracing paper and let the ink completely dry. You have to be pretty careful because the ink will smudge very easily. You may have to reprint it if the printer smudges the ink.

2. Put a thin, even layer of gloss gel (I use medium gel brilliant, Liquitex brand).

3. Slowly lay the image on top of it and press out the wrinkles as best as possible. You have to be very careful on this part so you don't smear the ink from your image.

4. Once you've pasted your image on, spray the top of the image with a varnish. I use an acrylic/oil/alkyd varnish - Winsor & Newton brand.

5. After that's dry, you can paint over it, paste over it, put a gloss gel over it, etc. and the ink won't smear. The image will be translucent and you can blend it in with the painting very well.

"Seattle" painting

This was my largest painting yet! It's acrylic on 36x24 canvas. The awesome thing was it sold before I was even finished with it!

It's based off of an amazing photo my husband took from the ferry going across Seattle bay. Let me know what you think!