Image Transfer with Gesso

 Here is another type of image transfer I have been experimenting with. I begin with a black and white image reversed and printed out on my laser printer, this can be a photo or a line drawing scanned into the computer. I have brushed a generous layer of gesso on top of my 6x6" Ampersand Claybord and I lay my printed image face down on the gesso. I gently roll the back of the image with a (Speedball) breyer to adhere the paper to the gesso, evenly covering all edges and allow the gesso to dry overnight. For more in depth instructions, see Dana Brown's demo on the Ampersand Art website.

When the gesso is dry, I add a little water to the back of the paper and gently rub with my fingers. Layers of the paper will come off leaving the black and white image on the gessoed Claybord surface.  This process takes a while and you must be patient and remove the paper gently as to not remove the image itself. As you see in the photo, I work small parts of the image at a time and brush off the paper flakes with a soft brush.

 Here is my image with some texture from the gesso, it creates a unique surface in which to add color with colored pencils or watercolor pencils. The gesso alone is a bit slick and won't take colored pencil but the image itself will hold the waxy pencil.

These are my nine 6x6" cradled Claybord panels that will hang together as a series. The seaweed, the nautilus shell and the sea urchin are gesso transfers and the other six are image transfers with CitraSolv as explained in my last blog entry.

I like both of these methods as a quick alternative to detailed line drawings as a base for color. I will varnish these pieces and they will hang just as they are shown here.