I have been doing more samples of photographs onto wood and the quality is getting better. I have selected different images to try including houses from Borth, animals (cow so far) and nature (trees).
The cow image above retained the sunshine on the grass when transferred to the wood. When removing the paper after it has dried over night, the image did not rub off completely but you can't see that whilst it is wet and I have been allowing to dry, then noticing a whole mass of paper left on, so I have to wet again and scrub. I have re watched the video on You Tube which I initially got instructions from to ensure I'm not missing anything i.e. I am using cold water to remove the paper - should it be warm water? What I did notice that I haven't been applying to gel to the image as well as the wood so I will do this on my next sample. A different You Tube video shows a slightly different way of drying immediately then rubbing again so I will also try this.
There are places on the wood where the image rubs off completely and this is I feel simply a part of the process and yes I could be gentler to try to ensure this does not happens but I'm not convinced I will ever get a perfect one. It does give character to the whole thing... that said though if too much comes off it just looks like parts are missing.
The tree images below are on one piece of wood. I wanted to get 3 onto the wood but the prints were too large. I used an original image, then an edited image in Photoshop to try out on the wood. Again, the image has been rubbed away in lots of places. Part of this is I suspect not just harsh rubbing on my part, but where the wood is uneven. I purchased off cuts of wood and did lightly sand them down. I wonder if I hadn't used off cuts would the result be better? This is my next task. To measure up the 3 photos of a sunset, then go to the wood yard on Monday and buy one piece of brand spanking new wood, not off cut. I think for personal use it is fine, but as these are going to be sold, I don't think they're yet good enough.
I noticed after adding Mod Podge and using a paint brush to do this, I had brush marks so I used a sponge instead on the next sample and this gave smoother finish.
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| This photograph of a tree in the snow I have edited in Photoshop and produced an original and also the one below, using a filter |
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| you can clearly see the rubbed away pieces of the image |
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| the rubbing off process is time consuming and messy |
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| The chalky emulsion painted onto the wood. |
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| This is pre scrubbing you can see the water is starting to soak in |
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| This is after I had applied the mod podge which is in effect a clear varnish |
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| The paint sample I purchased for £2.28 from B&Q |
I have also investigated paints to use on the wood where the images don't appear. I purchased some chalky emulsion from B and Q. There were literally hundreds of emulsions but when I spotted the chalky one I thought I'd buy a tin of that. I wanted a colour that wouldn't detract from the main images and also one that looked old and as though it should be there. I opted for Deep Sung Cream from Craig and Rose who I had never heard of. http://www.craigandrose.com/deep-sung-cream. It's matt emulsion which is flat with no shine on it. I was drawn to the chalky paint as I had previously picked up a leaflet (contained in my sketchbook) for Annie Sloan chalky paint in a vintage shop in Cotswolds. I never actually bought any paint although I was very tempted but I didn't have a use for it at that time. Now though, I will buy a sample of Annie Sloan paint because there are a vast range of colours. I can then compare it to the Craig & Rose. The Craig & Rose tester pot is cheaper than the Annie Sloan as her's is £5,99 for 100ml.
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| Annie Sloan paints (http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/Chalk_Paint__100ml_UK.html) |
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| This is the colour shown on Craig & Rose's website (http://www.craigandrose.com/)
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The plan now is to get another piece of wood, cut to size, brand new not off cuts, use 3 sunset images on one piece of wood and also one solo image of a house, ensuring I use the gel on both photo and wood, scrub off gently and paint the reverse of the wood and then glaze. I will also be adding some kind of textile to this finished pieces. Finally I will seek feedback from fellow students and tutors. I'm still convinced that these aren't really any good to sell hence the feedback is essential. Also, the proof is in the pudding because I could get feedback saying yes they're fabulous but that doesn't guarantee people will want to buy them. Only time will tell. Also, this producing of samples reminds me of an email interview with the producer of Oily Rag products where she said it took 18 months to get a sellable product ! So these things do take time.
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