Working on a previously prepared background allows interesting faces to emerge and for imagery, words, color and texture to play in them. Transparency transfers are a great element to add to a background, and you can continue to work on top of them. You can see through transparencies, so you can see exactly how it’s going to look on the background before applying it. By scanning your sketches and resizing and printing them onto transparencies, you will have a whole host of imagery to use in your work!
Surface
10" × 8" (25cm × 20cm) plein air panel or 140-lb. (300gsm) hot-pressed watercolor paper
Acrylic Ink
colors of your choice
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen
Black
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pens
Gray, White
Fluid Matte Sheer Acrylics
colors of your choice
Brushes
1-inch (25mm) flat
no. 8 round
Other Supplies
baby wipes, black permanent pen, bone folder tool or spoon, gesso, heat tool (optional), inkjet transparency printed with sketch, Mixed Media Adhesive or gel medium, neutral collage materials, scissors, spray bottles, stencils
Adhere thin neutral collage elements to the panel or watercolor paper using Mixed Media Adhesive or gel medium. Use a 1-inch (25mm) flat to apply adhesive to the back of the elements, to the substrate and then over the applied elements, leaving some of the panel color to show through. Let air dry or use a heat tool to speed drying.
Apply a wash of gesso (1 part gesso to 4 parts water) over the collaged background with a 1-inch (25mm) flat, unifying the elements. It’s OK to leave some of the background and edges without gesso. Let air dry or speed dry with a heat tool.
Attach a spray top to the acrylic ink bottle or transfer the ink into a small spray bottle. Spray the background with two colors of your choice (I’m using Turquoise and Mustard Seed). Note: test the spray before spraying onto your project.
Lay a stencil on top of the sprayed ink and use a baby wipe to blend and lift the ink. Remove the larger stencil and lay a smaller stencil on different areas of the background, wiping with a clean baby wipe.
To keep your smaller stencils organized and easy to find, punch a hole in the corner of each stencil with a hole punch tool and attach the stencils to a key ring. They can be removed easily for use.
Trim the inkjet transparency of your sketch to create a 1⁄2-inch (13mm) border around the design. Use a 1-inch (25mm) flat to apply a thick, even layer of Mixed Media Adhesive or gel medium to the substrate where you want to transfer your sketch. (You can also use hand sanitizer in place of the medium.) Lay the transparency ink side down in the medium and burnish with a bone folder tool or the back of a spoon to transfer the design. Gently lift one corner to check on your progress and remove the transparency when completely transferred. Let dry thoroughly.
Use inkjet transparencies that are not waterproof, multipurpose or quick dry. I like 3M brand, but there are many brands available. Shop online for the best selection. If one brand doesn’t work for you, try another.
Transfers are always a bit iffy. Printer inks vary, humidity affects the transfer, and it takes trial and error to find the perfect amount of medium and burnishing.
Here are some tips to make it go more smoothly: It’s best to use a freshly printed inkjet transparency. If it’s been sitting around for a while, the image won’t transfer as well. If the transparency doesn’t work the way you want it to, clean the background with a baby wipe, then dry the background and start with a fresh transparency. If you have a transfer method you like, stick with it.
Create additional collage elements by tracing a stencil design or drawing directly onto dry wax deli paper with a permanent pen. Adhere the collage elements with Mixed Media Adhesive or gel medium, applying the adhesive to the back of the elements, to the substrate and then over the applied elements with a 1-inch (25mm) flat.
Add Fluid Matte Sheer Acrylics or very diluted acrylic paint in colors similar to the inks used in Step 3. (I’m using Mustard Seed, Rusted, Turquoise and Rain.) Use a no. 8 round to drip elements around in the background and outside of the face. Begin to paint the face with the same colors.
Use Big Brush pens in Gray and White to add shadows and highlights to the face. Starting with the Gray, color a small amount on part of the face. Activate and move the ink with a wet no. 8 round to shade. Apply Gray to the back side of the head, around the eyes and eye sockets, under the nose, the upper lip, under the lower lip and under the chin. Let dry.
Next apply White to the highlight areas, including the brow bone, a little on the middle of the forehead, down the nose, on the ball of the nose and the nostrils, the whites of the eyes, the cheekbones, the lower lip, the chin and the jaw. Let dry. Then go over the face with a little bit of the paint from the background (I’m using Mustard Seed), adding a very sheer layer of paint over the shaded areas with a no. 8 round.
Use the White, Gray and Black pens to add design elements and journaling to the background as desired.