Printing Photograph on to wood

This post is a little different from my previous posts where I have explored & researched various Art Movements of the early 20th Century.  In each of those posts I have taken an image using the information and knowledge that I have learnt through my research.
In this post I will take one of those images and print onto a different meduim.
I have chosen to PRINT ON WOOD.          

This is how I did it....




'Sails on Darling Harbour' is an image I took in the pictorial style.

The ship itself is made of wood.

It is an old ship which I feel will look good printed on wood.

It will add to the charachter of the ship and compliment its era.

Having selecting the image that I wish to print, I will need to reverse it.

I will be laying the image face down on the block of wood so in order

to have it facing the correct way in the end product it needs to be flipped.

This I do in photoshop by selecting the image tab and flipping horizontally.

I print the image in Black & White on a laser printer.

I apply three separate thin layers of Gel Medium to my image.

Letting the image dry thoroughly after the first and second applications.

(I left it for 3/4 hours between applications.)

Gel Medium can be purchased at your local Art supply store.

I used a soft brush to apply the gel, washing after each use.

After applying a third thin layer of gel medium I immediately laid the image

face down onto the piece of wood that I had selected.

Smoothing it out evenly to get rid of any air bubbles.




Leave to dry.... At least 8 Hrs

I left mine overnight.

 
Next step is to remove the photo paper from the image,The idea being that the

image will remain set in the gel on the wood.

Using a wet towel, I wet the paper surface. (I lay the towel on the surface and

left it there for a few minutes.)

Using the damp towel I then rubbed the surface,the

paper comes away in layers.

Patience is required here as it takes a while to lift all

the layers.

Once all the paper was removed, my image was

revealed.  I left it to dry further.

The wood around my image was a little lighter than the finished image, to create a more natural look
and also to make the final piece appear more dated. I painted the area around my image with Watercolour paints using Vandyke Brown and a little of Payne's Grey.  These, I applied in several very light wash's until I was satisfied with the overall look.

                                                                                                                                                             
The Final step was to apply a
layer of Mod Podge to the wood.  This seals the image and gives a nice overall shine to the wood.

And here it is.............


THE FINAL RESULT

I'm happy.

1.