Studio Visit #5: Gel Medium Image Transfer Skin

Have you ever tried making a gel medium image transfer that you can actually peel off and move around? In this post, I’m experimenting with creating a freestanding gel “skin” transfer: a flexible image layer that you can save, cut up, or collage later. It’s a fun twist on a classic printmaking technique and a great way to build up your stash of Art Parts for future mixed-media projects.

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How It Began

During March’s Member Livestream, I was demonstrating how to do magazine image transfers on the gelatin plate. These are some of the transfers I did during the livestream:

I attempted to do one with an old Life Magazine and it didn’t work.  I mentioned, somewhat off-handedly, that this doesn’t mean Life Magazine can’t be used for image transfers. You can do other kinds of transfers with Life Magazine.  For example, in the past, I’ve done a gel medium transfer with images from Life Magazine (find a guide to different kinds of image transfers HERE). 

In the past, I always did my gel medium transfers directly onto a substrate — a canvas, a piece of paper, a board — but recently I read about something called a “skin” transfer.

That’s right: instead of transferring directly onto a surface, you create a freestanding image transfer: a thin, flexible layer of gel medium that holds the image on its own. It’s basically an image you can peel off and save for later use. Isn’t that cool?!

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Making the Gel “Skin”

I started with some gel medium spread onto a Teflon sheet, then pressed down a page torn from Life Magazine — nothing special, just a test image I grabbed quickly. After letting it dry overnight, I was able to peel it right off the mat the next morning.

From there, I took it to the sink and sprayed it down with water, using a nail brush to help break down the paper fibers. Once the paper softened, it simply rubbed away, leaving the image transferred onto the gel.

After a little more gentle soaking and cleaning around the edges, I blotted it dry between paper towels — and voila! I had my first gel skin transfer.

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The Results

The image came out nicely — not perfect, but that’s the beauty of transfers. If I wanted perfection, I’d just glue the magazine image down! Those tiny imperfections, the uneven edges, and translucent areas are what make transfers magical.

While this particular image isn’t something I’d usually use in my work, it was a great experiment. I love that the white areas are transparent, which opens up tons of layering possibilities. I even played around in my sketchbook, cutting out one of the faces to see how it might integrate with other materials.

I could easily imagine trying this again with a more abstract image.

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Watch the Process

You can watch the video to see my experiments:

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Final Thoughts

This experiment reminded me how much I love rediscovering old techniques with a fresh twist. A freestanding image transfer feels like a little piece of magic. IT’s fragile, flexible, and full of potential!

If you enjoyed this peek into my process, you can always find more over at my online classroom where I offer a wide variety of self-paced classes. You can also explore my YouTube channel, podcast, and of course, this very blog for more creative experiments and behind-the-scenes looks at my art life.

Let me know what you’d use a “transfer skin” for!

Thanks for stopping by!