Good image-transfer paper hunting

I have hoarding tendencies. There, I said it. So imagine my horror when I realized I was running out of the paper I use to do image transfers with water.

In order to do water transfers, you need crappy photo paper -- that is, paper whose color runs if it gets wet. So when you print out an image on this paper, then transfer it to a porous destination like watercolor paper, you should have a mirror image of the original. The imperfections are part of the charm.

The Plumber's Jealousy assemblage, background

I think I bought my first pack of JetPrint Multi-Project Glossy Paper back in 2008 for an LK Ludwig class, the first time I'd done water transfers. But that was the year I gave birth to TwoBoo, so my art-making -- and paper usage -- slowed down for a while. Now I can't find it anywhere locally. Even cheap photo paper seems to hold ink well now, dangit.

After consulting with someone who knows paper, I've learned you can do water transfers if you use LASER glossy paper in an INKJET printer. Inkjet color slides right off because the laser paper won't allow the ink to sink in.

I tried it out...

But the colors don't stay true and they don't come off quite as cleanly. Yes, I could use acetone or gel medium or packing tape to do transfers, but I like water transfers. They're non-toxic, fast and they produce a dreamy effect I love.

Then -- hallelujah! -- I found the good stuff at Collage Closet. Look how nicely they wrapped it up for me.

In an email, Linda Schultz explained why it's so hard to find JetPrint these days:

The Jet Print has not been produced for several years.  When it, and the Great White paper too, stopped being manufactured I purchased all I could find as I loved using both.  I have only 8 - 10 packages left of the Jet Print and the Great White has been gone for several years. Wish I could get more, but I have given-up searching for it.  I read that Great White was reproduced as a recycled paper product, but have not seen it for sale nor read anything about how it works for transfers.

She herself only has a limited supply left to sell -- and oh, how hard it was for me not to order the rest. I tend to buy things I like that way: buy more than one (unless it's really expensive) so I don't Run Out In the Middle of Things.

Believe it or not, I ordered only two packs, 60 sheets per box. But if you watch "Hoarders" someday and you see me buried under a mountain of paper like the Wicked Witch of the East under Dorothy's house, you'll know why.

When you do image transfers with water, what kind of paper do you use? Tell me in the comments or on Facebook.

Don't bother me! I'm mixing virtual paint!

If you love pushing around acrylic paint, but you're separated from your beloved colors -- nooooo! -- read on. I just found the most fun web page EVER.

Golden Artist Colors now has a virtual paint mixer! It's pretty easy to use. Start by clicking on a color swatch, then click on one of the virtual paint tubes on the right. (Follow my blue graffiti arrow.)

There's also a drop-down menu which allows you to choose heavy-body colors (the ones that come in a tube), fluid colors, or one of five other types.

To adjust the color ratios, just use the tube cap slider. (FYI, the first color default amount is "100%" until you start using the slider.)

But the best feature? Clicking on a point in an image -- theirs or one you upload -- and having the mixer suggest which colors to use! Apparently if I'm using fluid colors, my hair should be painted 70% Yellow Oxide, 20% Naphthol Red Medium, and 10% Carbon Black.

Or if I switch to heavy-body colors, I should use 40% Hansa Yellow Medium, 30% Light Violet, and 30% Light Ultramarine Blue.

Mind: blown.

Upsides, in my experience:

• almost more fun on the phone than the laptop (color on the go!)
• ability to see colors I haven't used before
• educational -- might reduce some trial and error in color mixing, which might save me some money if it keeps me from buying a color I can't figure out how to use

Downsides:

• some swatch colors are nothing like the real thing, until you transfer them into the "tubes"
• Golden's ad boast of "No More Mud" is a bit of a stretch: the color mix display seems to go quickly to "brownish" or "grayish" on my laptop (yes, it could be a calibration issue, but that doesn't often happen on my laptop)
• can't mix different paint types (e.g. a heavy-body paint color and a fluid paint color)

Thanks to DickBlick.com for sending me a link to the color mixer (I'm not being compensated by Dick Blick or Golden for this post).

Have you used the Golden virtual color mixer yet? How? What did you think? Tell me in the comments or on Facebook. And if you post about it, send me a link to your blog. Follow-up posts are awesome.

Calendar girl on CreateMixedMedia.com

Every day this week... I've got a calendar girl up at CreateMixedMedia.com!

I'd been thinking of contributing to The Week As Art for a while; themed art is a great way to get the inspiration flowing. But my life has been, um, "eventful" for the last four months. Then I got the online equivalent of an engraved invitation to submit, so I had to get moving and look for inspiration in earnest. So first I took camera phone photos of address numbers in the oldest part of downtown Seattle.

Harder than I thought to find numbers 22 through 28 in a row, or even within walking distance. Then I looked down... and found the parking stall numbers you see painted on concrete.

But that didn't really go anywhere either. Finally, as I headed to TwoBoo's day care center one afternoon, I drove past a Washington state highway sign. The numbers are set within a silhouette of George Washington's head.

And then I realized, hey... I live within reach of all the signs I need for The Week As Art!

So I combined the George silhouettes with my most recently-painted over image.

My little Calendar Girl plays peekaboo for the whole week.

Each calendar "day" measures roughly 7" square, and is available for $40 each. Email me if you're interested in one of them, or in the original wall piece -- "Impenetrable" -- from which The Week as Art pieces are derived.


And enjoy yourself on the Create Mixed Media site -- it's bursting with mixed media resources, profiles and even a Craft Wars-style contest this week. I'd highly recommend sitting down with a cuppa and allowing yourself to explore!