Easy Mixed Media Photo Transfer

Combining photography with other forms of visual arts has the capacity to produce a very interesting and appealing final piece. Therefore blending mixed media and image transfer, two methods that are often done independently, is probably the ultimate union and can generate some exciting results.

What you need:

• Inkjet photo or laser photocopy
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made papers, stamps, ticket stubs, brown paper bags, wrapping paper, etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Mod Podge or gel medium
• Gesso
• Spray fixative
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

Mixed media photo transfer on 12×18 canvas panel

1. Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using Mod Podge.
2. Make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it not only adheres the papers to the canvas but also protects it for all eternity (or at least a few years).
3. Next, cover the collage layer with watered-down gesso. It will mute the layer a bit and also will tie the pieces together.
4. Optional: add a thin layer of acrylic or watercolor paint of your choice. Don’t over do it so it doesn’t overwhelm the other layers.
5. Let the collage thoroughly dry.
6. Convert the photo of your choice to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast. If you prefer to use a color photo (like the one used here) make sure to mute the colors.
7. If you are using an inkjet, print a mirror version of your image onto standard printer paper and protect it with spray fixative.
8. Cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down onto the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
9. If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about 15-30 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably overnight.
10. Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step until all the excess paper is completely gone.
11. For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
12. Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.
Applying the UV finish will help minimize the foggy appearance created by the leftover paper.
13. Clean up the mess!

 

If you like this article you can find it and many more photo processes in the new book:

Spice Up Your Photos [eBook download]
PRICE: $10

Thank you for your support!

 

Get this book on Amazon

 

How to make a collage background for your photos

Sure you can make some beautiful textures on your PC and it will probably be an easier, faster and a cleaner process.
However, if you like the direct contact with the materials, you will sure love this process.
What you need:

• Any size canvas or hardboard panel.
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made papers, stamps, ticket stubs, brown paper bags, wrapping paper, etc.
• Mod Podge or school glue
• Acrylic or water paints
• Optional: distress ink.
• UV protective finish such as Krylon Clear Finish or Mod Podge

1. Cover the canvas panel with your chosen collage materials adhering them with Mod Podge or school glue. Don’t worry if your work is sloppy and there are creases and bumps as it will add a texture quality to your final collage.

2. Water-down the color of your choice and paint a thin layer over your collage letting the layer beneath show through. Paint the center lighter and go with a darker shade of the same color toward the edges. Cover your work of art with any clear finish;
Mod Podge can be used for this purpose as well.

3. When the collage is dry you can scan it and use it as a background texture for your beautiful images (check out this Quick Photoshop texture tutorial to learn how it is done). Remember, when blending your handmade colorful texture with the photo it is important that this vibrant background is subtle and does not overwhelm your photo.

 

If you like this article you can find it and many more photo processes in the new book:

Spice Up Your Photos [eBook download]
PRICE: $10

Thank you for your support!

 

Get this book on Amazon

 

 

Read More

Simple Mixed Media Photo Transfer

Combining photography with other forms of visual arts has the capacity to produce a very interesting and appealing final piece. Therefore blending mixed media and image transfer, two methods that are often done independently, is probably the ultimate union and can generate some exciting results.

What you need:

• Inkjet photo or laser photocopy
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made papers, stamps, ticket stubs, brown paper bags, wrapping paper, etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Mod Podge or gel medium
• Gesso
• Spray fixative
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles
Mixed media photo transfer on 11×14 canvas panel

1. Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using Mod Podge.
2. Make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it not only adheres the papers to the canvas but also protects it for all eternity (or at least a few years).
3. Next, cover the collage layer with watered-down gesso. It will mute the layer a bit and also will tie the pieces together.
4. Optional: add a thin layer of acrylic or watercolor paint of your choice. Don’t over do it so it doesn’t overwhelm the other layers.
5. Let the collage thoroughly dry.
6. Convert the photo of your choice to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast. If you prefer to use a color photo (like the one used here) make sure to mute the colors.
7. If you are using an inkjet, print a mirror version of your image onto standard printer paper and protect it with spray fixative.
8. Cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down onto the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
9. If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about 15-30 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably overnight.
10. Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step until all the excess paper is completely gone.
11. For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
12. Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.
Applying the UV finish will help minimize the foggy appearance created by the leftover paper.
13. Clean up the mess!

 

If you like this article you can find it and many more photo processes in the new book:

Spice Up Your Photos [eBook download]
PRICE: $10

Thank you for your support!

 

Get this book on Amazon

 

Photo transfer to tile, mirror or glass

What you need:

• Gel medium
• Glass & Tile primer (such as Jo Sonja’s Primer)
• Mirror surface or a white ceramic tile
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

1) Begin by brushing a good amount of glass & tile primer on your mirror, glass or tile surface to increase transfer adhesion. Let it completely dry.
2) Choose a mirror photocopy of the photo to transfer. Images with a plenty of light areas where the mirror or tile will show through work best.
3) Cover the photocopy with a thin layer of gel medium and place the photocopy face down onto the mirror or tile. Make sure to gently smooth out any air bubbles between the image and the surface.
4) Let the transfer take place and dry for no less than 24 hours.
5) Spray the back of the photocopy with water and begin to gently rub off and remove the paper to reveal the actual transfer. Repeat this step as many times as needed until all the excess paper is completely gone.
6) Protect your artwork with a clear protective finish. Applying a gloss UV clear finish will also help minimize the foggy appearance created by the leftover paper.

If you like this article you can find it and many more photo processes in my new book:

Spice Up Your Photos [PDF]
PRICE: $10

Thank you for your support!

Great last minute gift for the photographer in your life!

Mixed media collage and photo transfer to canvas

If you would like to create your own mixed media/collage/photo transfer,
here is how its done:

What you need:
• Inkjet photo (printed on STANDARD PRINTER PAPER) or a laser photocopy of your photo
• Collage materials such as: newspaper or magazine clippings, designer or hand-made papers, wrapping papers, stamps, shopping bags, junk mail etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Any type of glue such as school glue, PVA or Mod Podge
• Any type of transfer medium such as Mod Podge or gel medium
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

1) Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using school glue or mod podge.
2) If you are using mod podge make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it doesn’t only adhere the papers to the canvas but also protects it to all eternity (or at least a few years).

3) Once your collage is thoroughly dry you can paint it with watercolor or acrylic paints. I like to use different shades of a color, paint the center with the brightest shade and then go darker toward the edges.

4) The next step is to convert the photo of your choice to black and white. In some cases color photos will work as well but black and white often work better with this process as they stand out more over the background.
5) You can use either a xerox photocopy of your image or an image printed from your inkjet printer. If you are using an inkjet, print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper (not a photo paper!).

Since I decided to work with a 16″X20″ canvas panel I had to divide my photo and print out 4 sheets of 8″X10″ papers.
6) If you are using an inkjet print its a good idea to protect your print with spray fixative to prevent smudging.

7) Next, cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down into the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
8 ) If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about an hour or two for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably over night.

9 ) Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step as many time as needed until the excess paper is completely gone.

10) At this point you will notice that there might be some paper left behind which is difficult to remove. Also the transfer looks quite rough and does not blend nicely with the background. So in order to better unify the background and the photo transfer, paint over the edges of your transfer using the same color you used for the background. Next you can paint over the white areas of your transfer with similar shades of the background behind them. Water down your paint and dub it onto the white areas with a paper towel. For the smaller areas you can use a cotton swab . Make sure not to paint over the ink (black) parts of your photo, just the white areas where the paper can still be seen.

Take a look at the next picture: The left area was painted while the right side is still covered with the white paper and had not been painted yet.

And this is the final image:

11) Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.

NEW eBook: Spice up your photos

Inkjet and photo transfers, texture layering, mixed media, hand painted photos and much more. $10 DOWNLOAD

Mixed media collage and inkjet image transfer using Mod Podge

Mixed media collages and photo transfers are fun and quite simple to do .
Here are the basic steps to create your own master piece:
1) Cover a canvas panel with old newspaper and pieces of textured paper (or any other found objects such as tickets or stamps)
2) Add a thin layer of acrylic or watercolor paints. I like to paint the center with brighter colors and use darker colors toward the adges.
3) Next, Convert the photo of your choice (in this case, a picture of an alley in Chinatown in San Francisco) to black and white. pictures with greater contrast are likely to work better as they tend to stand out off the background.
4) Print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper.
5) Spread a nice amount of mod podge on your image and press it face down into the canvas over the collage (make sure the collage is already dry).
6) Wait until the mod podge is completely dry (this may take a few hours). Rub your transfer with wet fingers and gently remove the excess paper to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy instead of inkjet printout you will need to repeat this step a few times until all the paper is completely removed.
7) Preserve your work of art with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon.

eBook: So much more than Photography

Image and photo transfers, texture layering, mixed media, hand painted photos and much more. $10 DOWNLOAD

Protected: Free download – 7 creative photography and mixed media techniques

Mixing mixed media with image transfer

I admit I’ve tried transferring a photo onto some sort of a mixed media collage a few times before, but without much success. Yesterday it occurred to me my mistake was that I transferred the photo “as is” in its original state and thus it was overwhelmed by the collage.
Therefore this time I converted the photo’s pixels into black and white before transferring it.
So here are the details:
1) Cover a canvas panel with old newspaper and pieces of textured paper (or any other found objects such as tickets or stamps)
2) You can add acrylic or water paints in a couple of places (yellow and blue in this case).
3) Next, Convert the photo of your choice (in this case, a picture of a church taken in Richmond Virginia) to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast.
4) Print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper.
5) Spread mod podge on your image and press it face down into the canvas over the collage (make sure the collage is already dry).
6) Wait about an hour until the mod podge is completely dry. Rub your transfer with wet fingers and gently remove the excess paper to reveal the transfer.
7) Preserve your work of art with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon.

You can find this photo process and many others in my new book: So Much More than Photography – eBook edition is now on sale for $10 .

original post: Aug 30, 2008 @ 11:04

Image transfer. Richmond Virginia.

Photo transfer – the L.A series

Korea Town - the LA series/mixed media photo transfer

This is another one from the LA series photo transfer I’m working on; so far there are three of them, and I’m planning to make quite a few more. This one features Korea Town, which from obvious reasons, I drive through quite often these days (thank you, Amit!). Generally speaking I’m trying to portray that certain something about Los Angeles which I found when I first arrived here. It is the sunny side of the city, a quality that is somewhere there beyond the daily traffic disaster, the crime, the strange dynamic between poverty and wealth and the superficiality.
I think I will always be a tourist in my city:)

If you want to make your own mixed media photo transfer you can find the well-written details of this process here.

Mixed media transfer – The L.A. photo series

Downtown Los Angeles. The L.A. series / Mixed media photo transfer

This is another example where I tried to make the background work together with the transferred photo.

If you would like to create your own mixed media/collage/photo transfer,
here is how its done:

What you need:
• Inkjet photo (printed on standard printer paper) or a laser photocopy of your photo
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made papers, wrapping papers, etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Mod Podge
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

1) Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. In this case I used artist and wrapping papers, but if you don’t have any, you can use any other type of papers and simply paint them so it works with your design. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using Mod Podge.
2) Make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it doesn’t only adhere the papers to the canvas but also protects it to all eternity (or at least a few years).
3) Let the collage dry thoroughly.
4) Convert the photo of your choice to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast. In some cases color photos will work as well but black and white often works better.
5) You can use either a xerox photocopy of your image or an image printed from your inkjet printer. If you are using an inkjet, print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper.
6) Cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down into the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
7) If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about 15-30 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably over night.
8 ) Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step until the excess paper is completely gone.
9) For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
10) Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.

You can find this process and many other photo processes in my new book:
So Much More than Photography
eBook edition Price: $10
Kindle edition Price: $10
Print edition Price: $35 (Now on sale for $25.20)
Black & White print edition Price: $20

When the background is more than a background

Manassas, Virginia / Mixed media photo transfer

The idea for this mixed media transfer came about while I was working on another project (I often work on more than one project at a time). I’ve noticed that in most of my mixed media transfers there is no direct relationship between the background and the transferred image. So I decided to create a piece where the background has a new role; a role that is something more than just being… well, the background. And mainly I wanted to make a background that will help to describe the essence of the place.

If you would like to create your own mixed media/collage/photo transfer,
here is how its done:

What you need:
• Inkjet photo (printed on standard printer paper) or laser photocopy
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made
papers, wrapping papers, etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Mod Podge
• Gesso
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

1) Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. In this case I used artist and wrapping papers, but if you don’t have any, you can use any other type of papers and simply paint them so it works with your design. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using Mod Podge.
2) Make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it doesn’t only adhere the papers to the canvas but also protects it to all eternity (or at least a few years).
3) Let the collage dry thoroughly.
4) Convert the photo of your choice to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast. In some cases color photos will work as well but black and white often works better.
5) You can use either a xerox photocopy of your image or an image printed from your inkjet printer. If you are using an inkjet, print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper.
6) Cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down into the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
7) If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about 15-30 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably over night.
8 ) Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step until the excess paper is completely gone.
9) For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
10) Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.

You can find this process and many other photo processes in my new book:
So Much More than Photography
eBook edition Price: $10
Kindle edition Price: $10
Print edition Price: $35 (Now on sale for $25.20)
Black & White print edition Price: $20

Couple at sunset in Santa Monica

Couple at sunset in Santa Monica
Mixed media photo transfer

If you would like to create your own mixed media/collage/photo transfer,
here is how its done:

What you need:
• Inkjet photo or laser photocopy
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made
papers, stamps, ticket stabs, brown paper bags, wrapping paper, etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Mod Podge
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

1) Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using Mod Podge.
2) Make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it doesn’t only adhere the papers to the canvas but also protects it to all eternity (or at least a few years).
3) Add a thin layer of acrylic or water paint of your choice. Don’t over do it so it doesn’t overwhelm the other layers. You can also deliberately color in and enhance the background.
4) Let the collage thoroughly dry.
5) Convert the photo of your choice to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast. In some cases color photos will work as well but black and white often works better.
6) You can use either a xerox photocopy of your image or an image printed from your inkjet printer. If you are using an inkjet, print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper.
7 ) Cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down into the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
8 ) If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about 15-30 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably over night.
9) Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step until the excess paper is completely gone.
10) For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
11) Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.

You can find this process and many other photo processes in my new book:
So Much More than Photography
eBook edition Price: $10
Kindle edition Price: $10
Print edition Price: $35 (Now on sale for $25.20)
Black & White print edition Price: $20

mixed media photography and happy street photos

Recently I find myself integrating a few of my beloved black and white street photos with some happy mixed media colors. The photo I chose here, which was my favorite photo in 2005, was taken while I was alone in NYC on one of the coldest days I’ve ever experienced. Yet, the memory of that day is the warmest one. The photo was transfered, using mod podge, to a 10″X10″ canvas panel

If you would like to create your own mixed media/collage/photo transfer,
here is how its done:

What you need:
• Inkjet photo or laser photocopy
• Collage materials such as: newspaper clippings, designer or hand-made
papers, stamps, ticket stabs, brown paper bags, wrapping paper, etc.
• Acrylic or water paints
• Mod Podge
• Gesso
• Canvas or wood panel
• A water spray bottle
• UV-resistant clear finish

1) Gather your collage materials and lay them out in a design of your choice on any size canvas or wood panel. Adhere the collage pieces onto the surface using Mod Podge.
2) Make sure to cover the collage pieces with Mod Podge so it doesn’t only adhere the papers to the canvas but also protects it to all eternity (or at least a few years).
3) Next, cover the collage layer with watered-down gesso. It will mute the layer a bit and also will tie the pieces together.
4) Add a thin layer of acrylic or water paint of your choice. Don’t over do it so it doesn’t overwhelm the other layers.
5) Let the collage thoroughly dry.
6) Convert the photo of your choice to black and white (not grayscale) by adding brightness and 100% contrast. In some cases color photos will work as well but black and white often works better.
7) You can use either a xerox photocopy of your image or an image printed from your inkjet printer. If you are using an inkjet, print out a mirror version of your image into a standard printer paper.
8 ) Cover your image with Mod Podge and press it face down into the collage. Rub gently with your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles.
9) If you are using an inkjet photo you will have to wait only about 15-30 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and for the transfer to complete. If you are using a photocopy let it set for a few hours, preferably over night.
10) Spray the back of your photo with water and gently remove and rub off the excess paper with your fingers in order to reveal the transfer. If you are using a photocopy you will have to repeat this step until the excess paper is completely gone.
11) For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
12) Preserve your art work with a protective finish such as “preserve it!” by Krylon for inkjet or Krylon Crystal Clear if you used a toner based photocopy.
13) Clean up this mess !

You can find this process and many other photo processes in my new book:
So Much More than Photography
eBook edition Price: $10
Kindle edition Price: $10
Print edition Price: $35 (Now on sale for $25.20)
Black & White print edition Price: $20

Mixed Media Image Transfer Directions

1. Using Mod Podge, paste pieces of textured papers and other found objects (such as ticket stabs, stamps old newspaper etc.) onto an 11”X14” canvas panel.
2. Make sure to cover this layer with the Mod Podge so it doesn’t only adhere the papers to the canvas but also protects this layer to all eternity (or at least a few years)
3. Cover this layer with watered-down gesso. It will mute the layer a bit and also will tie the pieces together.
4. Add a thin layer of acrylic paint of your choice. Don’t over do it so it doesn’t overwhelm the other layers.
5. Now to the transfer part. Spread Gel Medium onto your image which in this case is a Xerox copy of a picture taken at a train station in Long Island, New York in the evening when people get off the train to go back home from a long day of work.
6. Put your photo copy which is now covered with gel medium face-down into the canvas on top of the previous layers. I transferred a few copies of the same image.
7. Let it set for a few hours, preferably over night.
8. Wet your fingers and rub the access paper, revealing the image which is now transferred to the new surface.
9. For the final touch you can add text, letters, gesso and paints.
10. Clean up the mess!

That’s it! Now you’ve got yourself a nice mixed media image transfer thingy which I like to call: mixed transfer.

Make earth friendly photo art

After a good deal of experimentation with mixed-media-transfer I cannot but conclude there’s no substitute to using Xerox photocopies instead of inkjet printouts. Not only the Xerox transfer is more stable and therefore you have more control over it (which can also be a bad thing if you like the unexpected) but also the transfer is guarantee to last longer than an inkjet transfer will. The problem with the ink is that it has a shorter life span and sadly it does not handle water very well, so just a little bit of moisture can do great harm to your masterpiece.
Honestly, I’m not that happy about these findings mainly because I very much rather using inkjet printouts as I can print out whatever I want on the fly, and that’s how I prefer working, without extra planning. But it is what it is.
Anyway, the main reason I’m writing about mixed-media-transfer yet again, is that I would like to recommend that if you are interested in doing image transfers, do consider the mixed-media thing. I myself like it very much because of the special appearance of the end result and because it involves the therapeutic process of tearing, assembling and pasting. I often use found objects, meaning movie tickets, used stamps, spam mail, newspapers etc. Actually one of my favorite things to use is the little paper bag they put my sushi in at Whole Foods, it has red stripes and it states “stay cool” so I try to stay cool and I use these paper bags in every mixed media piece I make. The reason I mention it is that not only the mixed-media-transfer has a unique appearance; it is also Earth friendly and a much better way to recycle; no doubt it is the most energy efficient recycling method.
And by the way, before you transfer the image onto these mixed media things, you can scan them and use them as backgrounds with your texture layer technique.

Mixed media with image transfer and photo prints

This mixed media collage is actually a test piece where I was experimenting with different materials.
I chose an 11X14 canvas board and partially covered it with pieces of an old newspaper and different textured papers. I used mod podge to adhere the papers to the canvas. The mod podge also acts a protective finish. In order to add some color to the mix I used acrylic paints which I often favor as they dry quite fast.
I experimented with different type of printed cutouts. I used inkjet and also professional photo prints. No doubt the professional ones worked much better while the inkjet was not as sturdy and water resistant.
I also experimented with two types of image transfer. The inkjet transfer (done with mod podge) was weaker and somewhat faded (the birds are inkjet transfer). The Xerox transfer worked out perfectly and definitely justified the effort of making photocopies and of course the long wait for the transfer to take place. But of course the choice between photocopy transfer and a printer transfer completely depends on the look and feel one is trying to achieve.
I even tried drawing… but soon decided its not really my best talent and I should probably give it up.
Overall I liked using transfers with the mixed media collage over the photo prints mainly for two reasons: 1) using photographic prints didn’t feel like they are going to be long lasting and they might just come off some day in the future. 2) The image transfers simply blend in much better with the other elements of the mixed media artwork.
So here it is. Not yet a masterpiece.

photography & mosaic

Recently I’ve been interested in mosaic, not the traditional kind, but the free-form style. Unlike the traditional mosaic which is assembled into patterns , images and is made with carefully nipped mosaic tiles, the freeform is made from broken crockery, pieces of tiles and found objects (such as buttons, pendants, mirrors, jewelry etc). The freeform mosaic is assembled like a puzzle with the pieces set mostly without any pre-planning.

This whole process obviously has nothing to do with photography, but as you might have guessed, it didn’t take me long to figure out a way to incorporate photography into my work..
Since the pieces in my mosaic come from different sources they are of different thickness which creates an uneven surface. In order to solve this problem when creating, let’s say, a tabletop, I decided to include small tiles (4”X4”) into the mosaic. These tiles will act as coasters. I could of course use colored tiles but this became a golden opportunity to use white tiles and transfer lovely images into them to include in the final piece.

This is a picture of a freeform mosaic covered storage trunk with an image transferred into a 6”X6” black tile. (Picture taken before grouting). The photo used for the image transfer is a painted black and white picture I took in Glastonbury Connecticut in 2006.
In the next post I will describe how to do the tile image transfer (its quite easy!)

Sometimes things are not as hard as they seem.

I find out people think it’s really difficult to make this type of artwork but really it’s quite easy and takes just a few minutes to create.
If you’re not sure how its done look at a previous post about this process.
Sometimes I make one of these at the end of the day, especially if I feel the day went by too fast and I haven’t had a chance to do something worth mentioning.
Sometimes I make one of these when I need a rehab session.
Give it a try.
Everything will be just fine.

The picture used here was taken at the Embarcadero, San Francisco

Photo in distress

The other day I received email from someone about my distressed photo technique. He argued it is much easier and faster to achieve this weathered look using his computer.
Well, I doubt it.
I know very well that working in a photo editor is not really such a fast and simple process. It might be more accessible and less complicated than working in the darkroom but any serious digital-editing buff will tell you it’s not a speedy and trouble-free process.
On the other hand, distressing a photo print is quite simple and even takes less than a minute.
All you need to do is rub down the photo with sandpaper, wrinkle a bit to create random creases, soak in coffee/tea and let dry in the sun.
There are of course other methods, but this one works quite efficiently.

mixed transfer

One of the main ideas behind my endless quest through the land of experiments is a search for a technique to combine photography with other forms of the visual arts.
Therefore I was quite happy when it occurred to me to try combining mixed media and image transfer; two methods I’ve been doing independently until now.
Unlike most of my past experiments, this one worked well right from the start.
And because I spread plenty of mod podge over the mixed media parts (not only to make sure the different pieces are glued well but also to finish and seal the whole thing), this method creates the perfect surface to transfer an image onto.
If you are not sure how (and why) this method is done check out the Mixing mixed media with image transfer post.
I’m not yet sure what term will best describe this process and the best I could come up with is: mixed transfer… OK, not too clever, but that’s all I’ve got right now.

Image transfer. Rainy day in Westwood Village.