If you’ve ever wondered how to create an abstract painting composition, this video and pdf are for you!
Traditional Transfer Techniques in Western European Art
Музей: The J. Paul Getty Museum
“Study of an Apostle” (about 1560–1570), автор – Bernardino GattiThe J. Paul Getty Museum
In European draftsmanship, some drawings were working drawings, playing specific roles in the making of other works of art including frescoes, paintings, and prints.
“Venus and Mars Surprised by Vulcan” (1585), автор – Hendrick GoltziusThe J. Paul Getty Museum
When an artist’s design was complete, it was transferred from the paper to another surface—such as a wooden panel, canvas, wet plaster, metal plate, etc.—using one of several possible techniques: pricking and pouncing, tracing, squaring, and incising.
Often the task of transferring designs from paper onto another surface fell to workshop assistants. This was particularly true in the case of large-scale projects.
This presentation explores the various techniques commonly used during the 15th–19th centuries, and includes tutorials to try it yourself.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques in European Art (Tools)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Seen here from left to right, some of the tools used for various transfer techniques were:
• Translucent or semi-translucent paper
• Blind stylus
• Needle tool
• Black chalk
• Sachet filled with powdered chalk or charcoal
Nude Woman with a Snake , Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, about 1637, Владелец коллекции:
Female Nude with a Turban , Christian Friedrich Gille, 1855, Владелец коллекции:
Свернуть Подробнее…
Using translucent or semi-translucent paper, a drawing could be traced or partially traced to create near identical copies. Nineteenth-century painter Christian Friedrich Gille—known for his depictions of Dresden and its surroundings—had access to Rembrandt’s Nude Woman with a Snake (about 1637) and likely traced it to create this graphite copy on the right.
“Overlay of Nude Woman with a Snake and Female Nude with a Turban” (автор – Christian Friedrich Gille и Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn)The J. Paul Getty Museum
In this overlay of the two drawings, we see just how closely their compositions align, demonstrating how exact traced copies could be.
“Two Studies of Dancers” (about 1873), автор – Edgar DegasThe J. Paul Getty Museum
To copy an artwork—to scale, reduced in size, or enlarged—a grid may be used. This process is known as squaring.
After the original drawing is overlaid with a grid, a corresponding, proportional grid is drawn onto another surface, allowing the artist or a workshop member to copy the composition square by square. This helped an artist break down a larger work into smaller segments and deal with it one step at a time.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – squaring (step 1)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Required tools: black chalk , a ruler, and a blank piece of paper.
1) Square the drawing you wish to transfer, then prepare a grid of the same proportions on another sheet of paper.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – squaring (step 2)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
2) Proceeding square by square, copy the details to the blank grid.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – squaring (step 3)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
3) Compare the original and copy side-by-side to check accuracy.
“Portrait of a Woman” (1758–1762), автор – Jean-Étienne LiotardThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Incising requires chalk and a stylus (a pointed, non-marking implement).
First, the back of a drawing is covered in chalk, then placed on top of another support, like paper or a canvas.
With a stylus, the lines of the original are traced, impressing chalk from the back side of the original drawing onto the underlying surface.
“Detail of Portrait of a Woman by Etienne Liotard” (1758/1762), автор – Jean-Étienne LiotardThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Incising leaves visible indentations on the original drawing, readily visible when viewed with light at an oblique angle.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – incising (step 1)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Required tools: an original design, black chalk, a blind stylus, and a blank piece of paper.
1) Cover the back of the design you wish to transfer with black chalk.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – incising (step 2)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
2) Place the sheet on top of the blank piece of paper, chalk side down.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – incising (step 3)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
3) Retrace the outlines of the drawing with the blind stylus.
“Traditional Transfer Techniques – incising (step 4)” (2021), автор – The J. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
4) Carefully lift the sheet up to reveal the copied design.
“Dancing Peasant Couple Dancing Peasant Couple” (1525), автор – Urs GrafThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Pricking and Pouncing
Pricking and pouncing is a transfer technique in which the drawing is meticulously pricked with a needle to create a perforated outline of the design. Sometimes, a sheet of blank paper is placed beneath the drawing before pricking, creating a sort of stencil in the sheet below, which is commonly referred to as an “auxiliary cartoon.”
Next, the pricked drawing or auxiliary cartoon is laid on top of another surface and a sachet filled with powdered chalk or charcoal is patted over the perforated design, resulting in a dotted outline of the drawing on the new surface.
Vlog
Transferring a Drawing to Watercolor Paper
Many of you know that before I began painting abstracts I was a hardcore watercolor painter. I thought I would always be a watercolor painter and not get into any other kinds of media or types of painting. Fast forward 15 years and things have changed a lot for me in painting.
Many of you also know that I was an architect when I began painting and the use of tracing paper is an everyday thing as an architect. Drawing on tracing paper was the way buildings were designed when I was in the biz. Things have changed somewhat with more advanced 3D design software, but tracing paper is still a staple. Using tracing paper is (and was) a natural extension of how I worked for 30 years as an architect. Tracing paper comes in rolls of varying sizes and can be found at any art supply store or online store.
Many years ago when I was trying to transfer drawings from a small 3×5” value study onto a 22×30 sheet of watercolor paper I had lots of trouble. I struggled to transfer the drawing without making erasures on the surface of the paper. Watercolors painters know that continually abrading the surface of the paper creates areas where the paint reacts differently and can make unseemly dark spots and splotchy paint application. I decided to try tracing paper to help me transfer the drawing to watercolor paper, and I never looked back.
(Here’s a side story. Around 2005 or so, I took a watercolor workshop from a nationally known instructor at a very popular watercolor workshop location. I began everyday taping up on the studio windows a sketch on tracing paper to get it onto my watercolor paper. By day 3 of the workshop, 85% of the 24 other students in the class were doing the same thing! They all asked me what I was doing and why. Once I explained it to them and they saw the results, they all decided it was the best way for them. I wonder how many are still using this technique?)
This video doesn’t cover getting the small drawing transferred to a larger scale – that will take another video. I am only dealing with getting the already enlarged drawing to the watercolor paper. The trick is to put the enlarged drawing on the tracing paper first, then trace it onto the watercolor paper.
Once the drawing is on the tracing paper, I typically tape it to the glass front door on my house, then tape the watercolor paper over it, and trace the drawing directly onto the watercolor paper. In this video I am using a light box, which uses the same principle of lighting the drawing from behind so that you can see through the watercolor paper. You can only use 140 lb watercolor paper for this – 300 lb is too thick to see through.
Once the drawing is successfully traced onto the watercolor paper, I save the tracing in a file for future use. These are all my original compositions, so I can paint them as many times, in as many ways as I wish. I never paint them the same way, I always make slight composition changes and use varying color combinations.
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David
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