Saturday, November 17, 2007

Saral Transfer Paper

saral transfer paperKatherine from Making a Mark asked me in the comments section of my last post how do I transfer my drawings to my support. I thought why not make a post about it in more depth to the reply that I gave Katherine.

This work in progress is the third drawing that I had prepared for my artist in residence stint at Wilpena Pound a few weeks back, which I ended up not using due to running out of time. Because I wanted a detailed drawing so that I didn't have to concentrate so much with so many tourist looking over my shoulder, the Saral transfer paper is ideal. One thing I have found out though is to make sure a light hand is used when transferring the drawing onto AS Colourfix paper or the lines can be hard to cover with pastel. I found this to be the case with any method of transferring a drawing because I believe I dent the paper slightly or break down the grit with the marks that I make.

There are two other ways I transfer as well by making my own 'carbon paper'.
  1. Tape drawing to a window with the drawing faced against the glass. With vine charcoal, trace all lines that I can see that is showing through from the light behind the drawing. Remove drawing from window then face the charcoal side down onto the AS Colourfix paper and proceed to redraw the drawing so that the image transfers.

  2. This last one is the method I use the most but perhaps not as ideal for a lot of detail to be transfered. I have a large sheet of paper and rub pastel dust that has fallen into the gutter at the base of a previous painting onto it. This makes a nice carbon although it can be rather messy. I do like the grey tones for the transfered drawing and find them easier to cover if I am using pastels in a particular area lightly.
Getting back to the Saral transfer paper, it can be used again and again. There are five colours.
  • Graphite
  • White
  • Blue
  • Yellow
  • Red
For the artist that works with a great deal of detail and strives for realism, I can truly recommend this product to them.


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14 comments:

dianeclancy said...

Hi Susan,

I am going to bookmark this to be able to come back to. I once bought a little plastic tracing table thing ... but never ended up using it. I have gridded some small pictures and then gridded a large paper to transfer ... but that is not a direct transfer.

~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog

Susan Borgas said...

Glad you find this post interesting enough to bookmark Diane.
Cheers!

dianeclancy said...

Hi Susan,

I am hoping you are still feeling better ... I haven't been so great myself. I will get back to your Imagekind comment .. I haven't gotten the hang of maneuvering there yet.

Take care,

~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog

Susan Borgas said...

Diane I am so sorry to hear you are not well either. My husband had a bug earlier this last week and of course I ended up with it. Not sure if it is the time of the year for them or what but getting tired of being ill so much of late. I am painting most days but not the hours I normally put into my studio time. Until I am back on top of my workload here and my health and the chronic fatigue that I suffer with, I am finally admitting my blogs will be taking a back seat for awhile with only spasmodic posts happening. :(

Take care of yourself as sickness cramping an artistic mind is the pits!

Making A Mark said...

Thanks for the post Susan. I don't think I've seen Saral over here - I guess it must an amaerican product?

I usually just grid the main shapes if it's critical that the relative proportions are right. I don't think I've got the patience required for tracing!

Sorry to hear you're still not feeling better. Have you had your iron levels checked lately?

Susan Borgas said...

Yes going by the website the Saral Paper is from America.

The grid works well and once upon a time I used to use the griding method.

As to my health, I never even thought about my iron levels and a possibility because my diet was changed a few months back.

Lisa B. said...

I think sometimes an illness is the body's way of talking to the brain, especially for those who burn their candles at both ends.

Brain: Today, I have sheep to shear, commissions to paint, windows to wash, laundry to do, meals to prepare, and the shopping must also be done. No problem, I'll don my Wonder Woman costume and be done in no time!

Body: Well, you go right ahead and do what you want, but I'm going to sit here and rest awhile. I look silly in that Wonder Woman get-up anyway.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

Susan Borgas said...

Lisa no wonder I feel exhausted all the time when my body and brain are arguing so much. LOL

Ps.... apologies for posting this comment so late. It was a long day yesterday stocking up the pantry and refrigerator. Also a big day when appointments and business matters are also caught up with on the same outing. Still this makes the most of the trip when distant travel is involved. A day in the life of an artist. ;-)

Kim said...

I hope you are feeling better soon Susan....
your artist in residence work looks interesting and great tips for transferring drawings...
thanks for putting the 101 badge in your sidebar :)
have a peaceful Christmas
cheers Kim

Susan Borgas said...

Your welcome Kim, nice to see my name on that 101 list. :D

Anonymous said...

Hi Susan, I really enjoyed looking at your work. Your pastels are amazing! I really appreciate how many different types of media you use (I try to do the same!).

Could I link you off of my blog?

PS~ I hope everyone feels better soon!

Susan Borgas said...

Darryl I don't have a problem with anyone wanting to link to my blog.

Also thanks for visiting and your kind words.

virtual nexus said...

Susan - just called in and have been having a careful look round your blogs. Beautiful work. I dabble occasionally in acrylics and oils, and find this inspiring.

All the best with your health.

J

Susan Borgas said...

Julie thanks for dropping by. :D