Hi everyone and Happy Tuesday! You know what THAT means!! Yep..that means it's Lisa here with you for another edition of #TexturalTuesday!!
Today I thought I'd bring you another one of the bare basics from the Mixed Media "tool chest" and that is (drum roll, please...) GEL MEDIUM!! Yay!! Let's hear it for Gel Medium! Okay, maybe you're not all as excited by Gel Medium as *I* am...but you WILL be. ;)
So, let me talk to you a little about what Gel Medium is and isn't. There is a little bit of confusion out there in crafty-land about this stuff and it's my job to clear the air, right? Right!
Here we goooo: "The primary function of Gel Medium is to broaden the technical capabilities and results of acrylic paints. Depending upon the type of medium employed, it can alter the consistency of paint, add sheen, reduce gloss, adhere mixed media elements to the surface of the painting, increase film integrity, add a transparent coat, reduce the cost of paint, prime a canvas, repair a painting, protect a painting and bind paint. Artists use gloss medium to highlight specific elements of a painting, such as the breaks of waves or the edges of clouds. Gel medium also works great in collage, decoupage and transfers."
* Source
Just like with my last #TexturalTuesdays blog post here in the CLASSroom on Gesso, I'm going to show you how to use Gel Medium in a variety of ways.
Let me first start by showing you the Mixed Media canvas I created using Gel Medium:
For the canvas above I used the super versatile Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Be-YOU-Tiful by Julie Ebersole as my sentiment.
1. To start I have a 9" x 12" very basic canvas and a print of a butterfly that I found online, put on a thumb drive and made copies of at my local copy center. The reason for this is that for the Image Transfer Technique you do NOT want to use an ink jet printer. It should be toner based or from a magazine.
2. Lay your image face down on your canvas where you want it and coat the image completely with Gel Medium using thin but very complete layers. I coated the entire canvas NOT just my paper. Burnish to make sure all air bubbles are out between print and canvas. Then allow to dry completely. (I'm fairly impatient so I use a heat tool to speed up the process.)
3. Using a water bottle, spritz the image completely with a coating of water. You will want to make sure the image is completely damp. At this point you will want to start attempting to remove the paper from the canvas. By rubbing the paper away gently, you will be leaving the image behind...not the paper.
4. As you rub, be gentle, but firm. You DO want the paper to lift. But do not rub too hard. If you are rubbing too hard you may remove your print. You may keep adding additional water, as needed.
5. The best part of the Image Transfer Technique is the imperfections, the slightly distressed look and how unique it will turn out each and every time. At this point I decided to add some tissue paper in random areas. Using the Gel Medium now as collage medium, I applied the Gel Medium first on the canvas, then put the tissue paper down, and then put another coat of Gel Medium on top. Then allowed it to dry.
6. Next, I used "painted" the butterfly with a light coating of Gel Medium. This will allow me to use the Stamper's Big Brush Pens in a very wonderful way! As always with Gel Medium make sure that it's completely dry before going on to another step.
7. I have my 4 chosen colors of Stamper's Big Brush Pens. 2 Blues and 2 Greens. Starting with the Darkest Blue at the center of the Butterfly, the lightest blue, darkest green, then the lightest green I blend them all together. Since there is a base of Gel Medium these will all blend together with either just your finger or a touch of moisture. Either a paintbrush or water brush. If it gets too wet, just dab it up with a paper towel. These will dry permanent, archival and lightfast as they are India Ink.
This is how pretty they look all blendy!!
8. I love a little sparkle so I added a little bit of Glass Bead Glitter Gel to the Butterfly wings. I tend to use my fingers, but you use whatever makes you happy to get that stuff on your Butterfly's wings. With this stuff just remember -- less is more. If you use too much? It takes forever to dry and really doesn't look at that pretty. No bueno.
9. So now to fill in the rest of the canvas!! Yay!! So simple! I used TWO Gelatos®. Yup. That's it. Two. I used Squid Ink and Margarita Mix. Started off with the Squid Ink and rubbed it all over the place and then worked in the Margarita Mix on the edges.
10. I die-cut the Be-You-Tiful once from each of the colored cardstocks, slightly offset them, and adhered together. Stuck some itty bitty pieces of adhesive foam squares on the back and stuck the whole shebang on top of two die-cut vellum leaves. THE END! ;)
I hope that you enjoyed learning the Image Transfer Technique and saw how many other wonderful uses Gel Medium has. It's definitely one of the products I use the most.
Hope that you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and enjoy the rest of the week ahead.
