This week our lesson used TAP (Transfer Artist Paper). Our teacher was Leslie Riley and she is also the one who makes TAP. This was a simple lesson that had us ironing on an image using the TAP and then creating a background around it.
Leslie used a picture of her daughter holding a bowl. I actually have a picture of my daughter doing the same thing. The picture was taken right after we moved out to a new house in the country. My “city girls” were out exploring the yard and picked a bunch of raspberries to make jam. So I had to take a picture of this momentous event. City girls becoming country girls!
This is the second printout I did. The first one came out so dark that the raspberries were black. If you’re going to use TAP make sure you lighten the photos because it makes them dark. Oh! And be sure to print it in reverse so it’s the same as the original when you iron it on.
Here it is after I ironed it on. I was able to get most of the picture to transfer, but I’m still missing some bits. It’s still pretty dark, which I’m not thrilled about, but I can live with it. What really bothers me about TAP is the texture. The photo transfer is really gritty (rough to the touch). So much so that I think it makes the picture appear to be low res when it’s not.
I really didn’t think this piece was going to turn out so I didn’t take any other progress photos. So here is the finished piece. I absolutely LOVE the background and the technique used to create it. I applied gesso through a stencil and once that was dry spritzed on some spray inks. I used a bit of water to blend them and a baby wipe to reveal the gesso’d parts. I love this technique and I’ll definitely be using it again. Not so sure about the TAP, but I love that background!
Til next time…
Angela's Art Room 