First canvas

I joined a swap which required me to create an item which included a transferred image. I have been playing with packing tape transfers and gel medium transfers recently, and decided to see if I could transfer an image onto a canvas using gel medium.

First I painted the canvas using H2Os, in several greens and blues.

Then I gave a some beautiful gift wrap several thin coats of gel medium, allowing each layer to dry thoroughly.

Then I started painting gel medium onto the canvas, ready to accept the transfer - first mistake! The H2Os started smearing all over the place, so I quickly brushed a thicker layer of gel onto the canvas, slapped the gelled up gift wrap on top, and rubbed hard all over the back of the gift wrap. I left it all to dry overnight, then carefully wet the back of the paper and rubbed all the wet paper off the image with my finger. And this is what I found:


So far, so good! I had another image I wanted to add to the right hand side of the canvas, of a woman underwater, rising to the surface. So I repeated the procedure. Disaster. the image had been printed on much better quality glossy, coated paper, and although I rubbed and rubbed and rubbed, I could not get a clear image. So I painted over it!!!


I used my favourite Stewart Gill Byzantia paint. I still didn't like it, so I stamped it with a texture stamp, added some grainy embossing powder, and heat embossed it. I still didn't like it. I painted over it again!

I decided it was a garden of my imagination, and I love wildlife, so this garden needed wildlife. I found a couple of lizards, and painted them blue and green, so they were well camouflaged. I added them to the canvas, along with a mica and stone chip path, and the text reminding me to tend the garden of my imagination.


The canvas was looking good, but needed something in the top right quarter. I tried many ideas out, and eventually settled on a gel transfer of a fern. You would think I had learned by now? Nope. The transfer didn't go too well. It transferred fine, but I hadn't considered how dark the image was before transferring. It came out so dark I had trouble seeing what I had transferred. So I added a packing tape transfer of a lady in front of it for a little more interest. The finishing touch was some sticky backed letters, spelling the word 'garden', which I painted to tone in with the rest of the canvas.


I learnt a lot while creating this canvas -

1. H2Os do not become impervious to water once dry
2. Gel transfers are unpredictable.
3. Everything takes much longer to dry than you imagine it might
4. Mistakes are part of the learning process, and can be hidden!