Submitted by Pam Wellington, Boiling Springs H. S.,
Boiling Springs, PA
UNIT: Painting - Mixed Media - Robert Rauschenberg - Social Comment
Lesson: Photo Transfer Mixed Media Painting - Art with a message
Grade Level: High School (these are Art I examples - adaptable to middle
school)
Alternate lesson: Expressionism
- Mixed Media with collage
Artists such as Robert Rauschenberg
and many other contemporary artists use mixed-media
to create expressive, unique and dramatic paintings which explore themes
that are important to them either politically, socially, morally, or
emotionally. Telling a story
with paint is called “Narrative Art”.
These works make a social statement, define someone’s morality,
and can even become rather preachy. Many strive to communicate important
messages to society at large. Many
of these types of paintings can be visually shocking and not necessarily
“pretty”. A very popular means of expression currently is for artists
to use text, photography, and “appropriated” images to make a
painting. Appropriation
refers to the use of someone else’s art in their work.
It is common for the artist to quote a famous painting as part of a
new painting.
Click for larger images.
2-D
Art I- Photo
Transfer Mixed-Media Painting
Assignment:
You will be creating a mixed-media painting on a theme of your choosing.
By using carefully chosen images, text, color, and painted images,
you can create an interesting painting that expresses a political,
social, moral, or cultural issue that is of importance to you
personally. By selecting a
theme about which you feel passionate, you can create powerful images.
Step 1:
Select a theme.
Select a few photos that are about your
theme. Photos must be
clear, preferably in black and white or high contrast color, and large
enough to photocopy. Please!!
No tiny images, blurred images, or low contrast photos.
Your photos will be
photocopied. You may use the same image more than once, repeat and change
the scale of the image. One
or two really good images are much better than a lot of ordinary images.
Step 2:
Do a rough draft of your painting.
You must create a clear focus. You must select a limited color scheme that illustrates
the theme. For instance: if this has something to do with a dark or sad
issue, use dark or muted color.
You must have a rough draft of the composition.
Use narrative images in paint.
Include images that you paint or draw into the composition which
tell a story and illustrate your theme.
Text can be used, but do not LABEL. Allow the
viewer to figure out the theme and message from the images.
Step 3:
Composition is very important to this assignment. Decide
whether it will be symmetrical,
a-symmetrical, or radial. Create a visual focus
that leads the eye to the most important part of the painting.
Fill the space in an interesting way.
Mixed media means that you can use paint, photos, words,
painted images and drawing. All sorts of drawing media can be used:
colored pencil, pastel, oil pastel, charcoal, ink.
Even collaged things are allowed.
The photos must become part of the painting.
By layering paint and doing many layers of transparent
paint, you cause the photos to become part of a painting. The photos must
look like they are floating up from the paint. All borders and cut
edges must not be seen. Allow
the paint to go right onto the photos. Stain and paint the photos. Just make sure you do not cause the photos to
completely disappear.
Photocopy Transfer Process:
- Select photographs that are clear and have good
contrast.
- Photocopy the photograph (enlarge or reduce if
necessary)
- Apply clear
Acrylic gloss medium
to the surface
of the canvas and to the surface of the photocopy to be transferred.
- Apply the photocopy to the canvas face down.
- Using a fairly heavy piece of cardboard, rub the
surface from the middle of the image, out toward the edges. Excess
medium will come out the edges. Press gently and remove all
excess glue from surface of canvas.
- Rub the surface of the photocopy gently with
fingers which have been slightly moistened with a little water.
- Wait for a few minutes - allow to dry.
- Test the transfer by gently lifting the paper on
a corner. If all of the ink is on the
Canvas
it has transferred.
If some of the ink is still lifting off onto the paper, stop and wait
another few minutes and try again.
- Gently lift and peel the paper off the
Canvas.
A thin film of paper will remain on the
Canvas.
- Rub the surface gently with moistened fingers.
The paper will begin to pill off. Continue rubbing until all of the
paper film is removed and the only thing left on the surface is ink.
The surface
will feel smooth and there will be no white film remaining.
- You can choose to seal the surface with gloss
medium, but it is not necessary.
Give your students a small photocopy and a piece of Drawing Paper
and
have them practice transferring once before transferring to a canvas with Saral Transfer Paper.
Any text or image that the student wants to be transferred without
being reversed, needs to copied onto a transparency and reversed.
Reversed images and backwards words will transfer right way around,
just like any printing process.
Encourage students to stand to work. When fingers get sore, an eraser will also work to remove paper from
the surface.
I use the photocopied photos as a ground surface or under painting for
a painting which will go on top. Photocopies can be transferred onto almost any surface.
Tips from Pam:
You do not have to wait a whole day to peel. Depending upon how dry the
air is in the room you are working, it could be ready to peel in 5 minutes,
or as long as 30. Just very carefully pull up a corner that doesn't have
anything really important. If there is no ink left on the paper and the ink
is totally transferred onto the canvas, then you are ready to peel
everything. One reason I can think of for it taking so long to dry is
simply too much medium or too much water. Make sure you are squeegee-ing
the excess medium out. I use a plastic squeegee tool, but a piece of stiff
cardboard will work. Just GENTLY press from the center of the transfer out
to the edges to press out excess glue and swipe off with a damp sponge or
cloth. Make sure you are not adding water to the paper.
Process
using Liquitex (any gloss medium can be used):
http://www.liquitex.com
/techniques/transfer.cfm
Assessment/Evaluation:
Assessment
Worksheet
Photo Transfer Mixed-media Painting
The following
statements are skills and processes that you are to demonstrate on your
painting. Read the statement,
look at your own work as objectively as possible, and assign points for
each standard, depending upon how well you did.
0=failed 1=below standard 2=approaching standard 3=standard
4=exceeds standard/extra credit
Theme:
0
1
2
3 4
1. You have a theme that is political, social, moral, religious, or
cultural.
1. ____________
2. You have a theme, which is relevant to your life and significant
to you.
2.
____________
3. Your theme is visually obvious to the viewer; clear in its
meaning.
3.
____________
Composition:
4. You have a rough
draft or series of roughs that work out the arrangement of
elements within the picture plane in an interesting
way.
4.
___________
5. You have created a focus in your
composition.
5. ____________
6. The entire space is filled in an interesting
way.
6. ____________
7. Your composition is symmetrical, a-symmetrical, or
radial.
7. ____________
8. The photographs are
placed in an arrangement to create focus and to illustrate the
theme.
8. ____________
Transfer
process:
9. The photographs selected are clear and easy to see and illustrate
your
theme.
9. ___________
10. The photos have been transferred successfully to the surface of
the
canvas
10. ___________
Color
choices:
11. You have carefully
selected a color scheme with helps to illustrate the theme and are
limited.
11. __________
12. Explain your color
choices: what color arrangement did you choose?
What emotional
content?
12. __________
Painting
technique:
13. The paint is
applied in many layers of transparent glazes to stain the photos and create
depth.
13. __________
14. Tape is used to
mask out areas, is done many
times to create depth & highlight important
areas.
14. __________
15. Paint is applied thickly with a brush in some areas and covers
the entire
surface.
15. __________
16. The edges of the
photos are no longer obvious but are covered with paint so that the
photos appear to float up out of
the paint and become a part of the painting.
16.__________
Mixed
media:
17. Did you use other media? What other media did you use? Circle the ones used: pencil, ink, pastel,
oil pastel, charcoal, collage elements.
17.__________
Complexity:
18. 1=very simple 2=simple 3=complex 4=very
complex
18. _________
Craftsmanship:
19. Attention to details, finished look,
effort.
19. _________
20. For 10 points: In
a paragraph, discuss your theme.
Answer the following questions in complete sentences:
a. What is your
theme?
b. What did you
express to the viewer regarding your own feelings about the theme?
c. What emotions do the colors express?
d. Where and what is the visual focus of the composition?
e.
Is your painting successful? Explain why or why not.
Resources:
Jasper Johns Racing Thoughts,
1983 http://www.whitney.org/american_voices/271/index.html
This work is somewhat autobiographical.
Close-up of "Racing
Thoughts" http://www.artchive.com/artchive/J/johns/racing.jpg.html
See
Pam Wellington's painting using these techniques | More
of Pam's paintings
