First, there is the "photo glued directly to canvas". That's the method I used. You buy Mod Podge Matte, which is a glue and sealer. You use a brush to coat the ENTIRE canvas. Then you put Mod Podge on the back of your photo and glue it FACE UP onto the canvas, so you can see it. Finally, when it is dry, you put Mod Podge over the... ENTIRE THING! Don't be afraid. The Mod Podge, while it goes on looking like glue, dries CLEAR and it seals your photo and canvas. If you paint your canvas, do that first before you Mod Podge anything and let that dry.
Second, there is the "photo transfer" method. I tried this on one photo and I hated it. I used a wood sample for this one. You put Mod Podge onto the wood, and put a PHOTOCOPY (laser) of your photo face down onto the wood, so you only see the white back of your paper. KINDA SCARY!!! You also have to use a roller, ruler, or even a credit card to go over the entire copy to get out the air bubbles. ***THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP*** Don't forget to do this! The photo will then be transferred (i.e. BURNED) into the wood. However, you have to let it dry 12-24 hours (I let mine dry overnight)...NO PEEKING! Finally, you have to "scrape" the white paper backing off the photo. It took me 3 sessions of scraping to get ALL the white paper off. You basically wet your fingers and rub the white paper off. You'll start to see your photo underneath. Keep at it. ALL the white has to be removed. And, I didn't like the outcome. It would be great if you want that "distressed" photo look, but I'm a purist and I didn't like it. I believe you can also do this on canvas, but, after my experimental one, I didn't like the colors. I like the vivid colors of an actual photograph.
Yes, if you do this, please DO SHARE your results. You can just go to YouTube and type in photo to canvas or photo transfer and come up with some videos. I also googled "photo on canvas" and got lots of results. Don't be afraid to experiment! On the Convict Lake photo, I actually glued a mesh with some sparkles on the top of the canvas. It looks neat! I'm going to experiment with other multi media next.
HAVE FUN!
Please email me if you have any questions. ****VERY IMPORTANT**** If you do the photo transfer, you MUST use a laser copy of your photo. Apparently an ink jet copy will run the colors. Also, you have to press down on your photos to get out any air bubbles. ESPECIALLY for the photo transfer. I actually bought a roller at Michaels and I ran it over the photo transfer one.
IF you see streaks on your photos, don't worry. Most of mine do have streaks from the brush. I would suggest you use a foam brush instead of a hair brush. You could also take a towel and lightly go over your entire photo and canvas and that would give it a "canvassy" look. I did that on several of mine.
GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN! Just shoot me an email if you have any questions!
I order my photos at COSTCO, but WalMart and Walgreens also could print yours. COSTCO is very reasonable and turn around is 1 day.
No comments:
Post a Comment