TIPS FOR USING PHOTOGRAPHS IN COLLAGE
Don't use the original print if it's important. You might
ruin it. Use reprints, photocopies, or digital scans.
Check that the ink is waterproof before sticking it
down. Rub a moistened brush over a small area to
see jf the ink lifts. If it bleeds badly, don't use the
photo.
Try ironing non-waterproof photos. Place a piece of
tracing paper over the image, turn off the steam, and
run a hot iron over the paper several times. This will
often set the ink into the fibers of the paper. I have
sessions ironing large numbers of photocopies and
photographs!
For those photos that are slightly less than water-
proof, I stroke on a light barrier of Soft Gel medium
and let it dry thoroughly before using any paint.
Consider the type of paper. A glossy photo may lose
its emulsion when it is made wet. Thin paper photo-
copies or Inkjet prints will soak up the ink so quickly
that it is hard to apply light colors. Before you paint,
brush on a layer of matte medium and let it dry. This
prevents the paint from soaking into the paper.SOMETHING DIFFERENT:
WAX WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
Both these photographs were initially created from several
individual photos composited and blended in Photoshop.
These were printed on watercolor paper pre-coated with
inkAid and Golden Digital Semi-Gloss Ground. The photos
were glued onto board with matte medium. Beeswax and
resin medium were melted and painted onto the photo-
graphs and fused with a hot iron. (See chapter 7, page
98 , for details of the encaustic process.) The edges were
embellished with textured wax paint.
ABOVE RIGHT: Guardian.
Ann Baldwin, 12" x 17"
(30.5 x 43.2 cm). d igital
photo composite on
board, beeswax medium,
encaustic paints.128 I CREATIVE PAI N T WORKSHOP
BELOW RIGHT: The Abandoned
Castle, Ann Baldwin,
11 " x 14" 12 7.9 x 35.6 em),
digital photo composite on
clayboard panel, beeswax
medium, encaustic paints.Thick paper will be harder to adhere. Use a heavier
adhesive such as heavy gel medium or YES! Paste.
Thin paper will stretch and wrinkle more easily when
wet, so use a brayer to smooth out the air bubbles.
(Push in one direction only!) Use the adhesive on
both surfaces. But remember, a few wrinkles can add
character and texture to your mixed-media painting.
It's usually easier to work with black-and-white
photographs, rather than color. Inkjet colors will be
altered unpredictably by applications of transparent
fluid paints-you may like this or you may not. When
printing in black-and-white, try not to make the blacks
too deep, as they" deaden" the painting. Photocopy
blacks are particularly difficult to alter with paint. Set
the copier to a lighter setting. Where blacks are too
dark, consider coloring over them with colored pen-
cils prior to sticking down the image. In fact, I often
enjoy coloring clothes and hair and applying makeup
with crayons or colored pencils to give the piece a
handmade look.